Hydrophilic segmented block copolymers based on poly(ethylene oxide)

Segmented block copolymers consist of alternating flexible segments and crystallisable rigid segments. The flexible segments have a low glass transition temperature and are used to obtain flexible materials. The rigid segments can crystallise and act as thermal-reversible physical crosslinks, giving the material dimensional stability and solvent resistance. The aim of the research described in this thesis, is to study the synthesis and structure-property relations of polyether-based segmented block copolymers containing monodisperse bisester tetra-amide segments (T6T6T). The polyether phase consists of hydrophilic poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and/or hydrophobic poly(tetramethylene oxide) (PTMO) segments. The T6T6T segments are prepared from dimethyl terephthalate (T) and hexa-methylenediamine (6). Well phase-separated polymer structures are obtained by using monodisperse crystallisable segments, resulting in a rather pure polyether phase.