Synthesis of amphiphilic graft copolymers with poly(2-methyl-2-oxazoline) side chains and a backbone containing chloromethylstyrene and methyl methacrylate

New amphiphilic graft copolymers were synthesized by means of a cationic ring-opening polymerization of 2-methyl-2-oxazoline initiated with a statistical copolymer of methyl methacrylate and chloromethylstyrene. The synthesis was carried out in benzonitrile at 110°C. The grafting reaction was quantitative and the yield of grafting was more than 90%. The graft copolymers were characterized by means of NMR, FT-IR, and UV-VIS spectroscopy, as well as elemental analysis and viscosity measurements of their aqueous solutions. The graft copolymers revealed amphiphilic properties and evidence for the formation of micelles and molecular aggregates in aqueous solution. Graft copolymers with relatively short lateral chains are soluble in methanol but insoluble in water, while the copolymers with longer lateral chains are soluble in both methanol and water.