Applications of telechelic polymers as compatibilizers and stabilizers in polymer blends and inorganic/organic nanohybrids

Abstract

We report new application fields of telechelic polymers synthesized via chain-end functionalizations of living polymers readily prepared from anionic polymerizations using lithium naphthalenide. The molecular weights of functionalized polymers were controlled in the range of 2000-50,000 g/mol. The functionalization yields were over 98 mol% on the basis of the results by H-1 NMR analysis. Among several telechelic polymers, dilithium alpha,omega-disulfonated polystyrene could be used as an efficient compatibilizer to control the morphologies of the polystyrene/nylon 6 or the polystyrene/poly(ethylene terephthalate) blend systems through the ionic-dipole interaction mechanism. All telechelic polymers carrying hydoxylate, carboxylate, sulfonate, and thiol groups were successfully used as the polymer stabilizers for preparation of nano-sized cadmium sulfide (CdS) semiconductor in the range of 5-30 nm. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.