Synthesis of multi-arm star polystyrene with hyperbranched polyether core

Multi-arm star polystyrenes with hyperbranched poly(3-ethyl-3-oxetanemethanol) (PEOM, 3) core were synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) method. The structures of polymers were confirmed by FT-IR and 1H NMR. GPC results showed that the resultant polymers had relatively low polydispersity indices (PD = 1.47–2.03). DSC analysis indicated that polystyrene star polymers had a glass transition temperature (Tg = 42.2–91.5 °C) that changed with the amount of the polystyrene in the polymers. In addition, the aggregation behavior of the multi-arm star polystyrenes in a selective solvent (THF/cyclohexane) was probed with polystyrene arms that encapsulated in the aggregates and PEOM cores hidden in the center of the micelles.