Efficient Switching of RAFT to Hydroxyl Capped Polymers as a Versatile Scaffold for Block Copolymer Synthesis

The RAFT polymerization is a versatile technique to synthesize polymers with narrow dispersity and high chain-end functionality. To enable a switch from RAFT to other polymerization protocols, the RAFT polymers were transformed via a novel end-group conversion into OH functional polymers. The procedure was employed to synthesize a variety of sulfur-free (multi-) block (star) copolymers. The complex polymers were analyzed via LCCC-SEC, SEC/ESI-MS, and SEC/FT-IR.