Accelerated pressure synthesis and characterization of 2-oxazoline block copolymers

The cationic ring-opening polymerization of 2-oxazolines in acetonitrile was investigated under pressure conditions utilizing methyl tosylate as initiator of which the single crystal X-ray structure is described as well. The polymerization kinetics were studied and compared with previously reported microwave-assisted pressure polymerizations. Moreover, a series of block copolymers was synthesized in an automated parallel synthesis robot utilizing this pressure polymerization method. The resulting block copolymers were characterized with both differential scanning calorimetry and contact angle measurements to determine the effect of copolymer composition on glass transition temperature, melting point and surface energy. Atomic force microscopy was applied to further investigate the possible phase separation.