Synthesis of Arborescent Poly(isobutylene-b-p-methylstyrene)

SYNTHESIS OF ARBORESCENT POLY(ISOBUTYLENE-b-p-METHYLSTYRENE)

ALEJANDRA ALVAREZ^a, JUDIT E. PUSKAS^a,b, ^aDEPARTMENT OF POLYMER SCIENCE, THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON, AKRON, OH 44325, ^bDEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL & BIOMOLECULAR ENGINEERING, THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON, AKRON, OH 44325. TEL: 330-972-7533; FAX: 330-972-5290; EMAIL:AA88@ZIPS.UAKRON.EDU

Arborescent polyisobutylene (arbPIB)-based block copolymers display unique thermoplastic elastomeric properties to make them very attractive for biomedical applications. These novel block copolymers provide an alternative choice of materials to medical grade silicone rubber for biomedical devices. The synthetic route to synthesize these materials has previously been reported. Earlier reports found that only ~50% para-methylstyrene conversion was achieved. In this study, we established synthesis conditions to yield 100% monomer conversion and blocking without homopolymerization of the para-methylstyrene. The resulting thermoplastic elastomer was characterized by Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Size Exclusion Chromatography analyses, and tensile testing.