Synthesis and Characterization of Amphiphilic PEG Based Polymers and Their Self Assembling Behavior

Abstract

Sixteen amphiphilic polymers were synthesized using poly(ethylene glycols) (PEGs) of different molecular weights, viz. 1000, 1500, 2000 and 4000 as hydrophilic block and linkers namely azelaic acid, suberic acid, terephthalic acid and glycolic acid as hydrophobic block in the presence of catalyst conc. H₂SO₄ out of which four with glycolic acid as linker are new. Synthesized polymers were characterized by using ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR and IR spectroscopy. Micellar sizes of the polymers were determined using Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) technique which ranged from 32.1–262.0 nm and confirmed by Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) analysis. Molecular weights were determined using HORIBA SZ-100 scientific and varied from 6.5 × 10² to 6.5 × 10³ Kilo Daltons(kDa) by Debye plot. Critical Micelle Concentrations (CMC) of the synthesized polymers was determined using electrical conductivity meter and it ranged from 105 to 125 milligrams per litre (mg L⁻¹).

Keywords:

• Amphiphilic polymers
• poly(ethylene glycols)
• ¹H-NMR
• ¹³C-NMR
• DLS
• FT-IR spectroscopy
• TEM
• CMC

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Head, Division of Agricultural Chemicals, IARI, New Delhi, India for providing facilities to carry out the research work.

Funding

AK and BBS thank the PG School, IARI and ICAR, New Delhi, respectively, for financial support.