Stepwise Construction of Supramolecular A2B4-Type Miktoarm Star Copolymers with a Cobalt Phthalocyanine Core

Xinhao Zhong; Hsu-Tzu Cheng; Chu-Chen Chueh; Masayuki Takeuchi; Junko Aimi

doi:10.1002/chem.202403749

Stepwise Construction of Supramolecular A₂B₄-Type Miktoarm Star Copolymers with a Cobalt Phthalocyanine Core

Chemistry. 2024 Nov 19:e202403749. doi: 10.1002/chem.202403749. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Xinhao Zhong^{1

2}, Hsu-Tzu Cheng³, Chu-Chen Chueh³, Masayuki Takeuchi^{1

2

4

5}, Junko Aimi¹

Affiliations

¹ Research Center for Macromolecules and Biomaterials, National Institute for Materials Science: NIMS, 1-2-1 Sengen, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0032, Japan.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8577, Japan.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University.
⁴ Research Center for Autonomous Systems Materialogy (ASMat), Institute of Integrated Research (IIR), Institute of Science Tokyo (Science Tokyo), 4259 Nagatsuta-cho, Midori-ku, Yokohama, 226-8501, Japan.
⁵ Institute of Mutidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM), Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan.

PMID: 39562178
DOI: 10.1002/chem.202403749

Abstract

Supramolecular interactions between polymers play a crucial role in the construction of three-dimensional polymer structures with unique physical and chemical properties. In this study, we have fabricated a novel supramolecular miktoarm star copolymer (μ-star) with a cobalt(II) phthalocyanine (CoPc) core using metal-ligand coordination. Axial coordination of the terminal pyridyl group of poly(methyl methacrylate) with the CoPc core of four-armed star-shaped polystyrene provided AB₄- and A₂B₄-type μ-stars through stepwise complexation. The spin-coated polymer films from mixed solutions of CoPcPS₄ and pyPMMA in 1 : 1 or 1 : 2 mass ratios exhibited phase-separated nanodomains with smooth surfaces. Supramolecular interactions in polymer systems provide a unique topology to polymers and affect their bulk morphology.

Keywords: Cobalt phthalocyanine; Miktoarm star copolymer; Polymer blend; Supramolecular polymers.

Abstract

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