A Novel Successive Route to Well-Defined Water-Soluble Poly(2,3-dihydroxypropyl methacrylate) and Amphiphilic Block Copolymers Based on an Osmylation Reaction

A novel two-step successive route to well-defined water-soluble poly(2,3-dihydroxypropyl methacrylate) [poly(DHPMA)] and the amphiphilic block copolymers of DHPMA with styrene (St) or methyl methacrylate (MMA) was developed by combining the living anionic polymerization method with an osmylation reaction. Homopolymers of allyl methacrylate (AMA) with various molecular weights (Mn = 5900−170 000) and narrow molecular weight distributions (MWD; Mw/Mn = 1.06−1.16) were first prepared by the anionic polymerization of AMA using 1,1-diphenylhexyllithium (DPHL) as the initiator, in THF, in the presence of LiCl ([LiCl]/[DPHL]0 = 3), at −70 °C. Under similar conditions, the anionic block copolymerization of AMA with MMA generated well-defined di- and triblock copolymers with controlled molecular weights and compositions as well as narrow MWDs (Mw/Mn = 1.05−1.16). Further, block copolymers of St and AMA with various compositions were prepared by performing the anionic block copolymerization of AMA from a 1,1-diphen...