Synthesis of Amphiphilic Block Copolymer of Butadiene and Acrylamide using Telechelic Polybutadiene and V(V) as Redox System

Block copolymers of butadiene and acrylamide (AAm) were synthesized by radical initiation using the hydroxy terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) and ammonium meta vanadate (AMV) macroredox initiator pair in heterogeneous medium, in the presence of sulphuric acid/methanol at 35°C in air and in nitrogen. The homopolymer of AAm was not formed under these reaction conditions. The yield of block copolymer decreased on dilution with methanol. No copolymerization was observed in other solvents, namely DMF, DMSO, CHCl₃, and toluene. Formation of block copolymers was confirmed by IR and NMR spectroscopy. Self‐assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers was evidenced by swelling, solubility and viscosity measurements.

Keywords:

• butadiene‐AAm block copolymer
• amphiphilic block copolymer
• polybutadiene
• macroredox polymerization
• self‐assembly