Catalyst switch strategy enabled a single polymer with five different crystalline phases

Well-defined multicrystalline multiblock polymers are essential model polymers for advancing crystallization physics, phase separation, self-assembly, and improving the mechanical properties of materials. However, due to different chain properties and incompatible synthetic methodologies, multicrystalline multiblock polymers with more than two crystallites are rarely reported. Herein, by combining polyhomologation, ring-opening polymerization, and catalyst switch strategy, we synthesized a pentacrystalline pentablock quintopolymer, polyethylene-b-poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(ε-caprolactone)-b-poly(L-lactide)-b-polyglycolide (PE-b-PEO-b-PCL-b-PLLA-b-PGA). The fluoroalcohol-assisted catalyst switch enables the successful incorporation of a high melting point polyglycolide block into the complex multiblock structure. Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry revealed the existence of five different crystalline phases.

Pengfei Zhang, Viko Ladelta, Edy Abou-hamad, Alejandro J. Müller, Nikos Hadjichristidis