Polymer Chemistry published a paper of our group (No. 134 paper, Polym. Chem., 2014, 5(10), 3379-3388)
No. 134 paper of our group was just published in Polymer Chemistry, a work done by Dr. Zhongkai Wang et al . in our group (Polym. Chem., 2014, 5(10), 3379-3388)
Title: Synthesis and characterization of designed cellulose-graft-polyisoprene copolymers
Zhongkai Wang, Yaqiong Zhang, Feng Jiang, Huagao Fang and Zhigang Wang*
Polym. Chem., 2014, 5(10), 3379-3388
Prof. Zhigang Wang and coauthors appreciate the nice consideration of the Editor and the three reviewers! Thanks!
Abstract: In
this work, we report an elegant design of novel graft copolymers based
on two natural abundant biopolymers with opposite physical properties:
rigid and hydrophilic cellulose, and flexible and hydrophobic
synthesized polyisoprene (analogue of natural rubber), which combines
rigidity and flexibility, hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity all in one
macromolecule. These cellulose-graft-polyisoprene (Cell-g-PI) copolymers
were synthesized via homogenous supplemental activator and reducing
agent atom transfer radical polymerization (SARA ATRP). FT-IR, 1H NMR,
13C NMR and TGA measurements demonstrate that Cell-g-PI copolymers are
successfully prepared. TEM and DMA results illustrate that phase
separation occurs in Cell-g-PI copolymers. Water contact angle
measurements verify that their hydrophobicity increases with increasing
polyisoprene side chain length. In addition, the core–shell Cell-g-PI
nanoparticles in water can be prepared via a self-organized
precipitation (SORP) method.