Poly(2-alkyl-2-oxazoline)-Based Copolymer Library with a Thermoresponsive Behavior in Dodecane

Abstract

Poly(2-oxazoline)s are an emerging class of polymers due to their high versatility and hence have proven to be beneficial in numerous applications. The extensive study and interest in this polymer class is due to their great synthetic flexibility and good biocompatibility, resulting in the synthesis of extremely functional material, particularly advantageous in biomedical applications. Although the thermoresponsive behavior of POx has been extensively studied in aqueous media, there is only limited literature on polymers with temperature sensitivity and solubility in nonaqueous media. Herein, a systematic library of 21 tunable copolymers based on unsaturated 2-fatty acid-2-oxazoline, 2-phenyl-2-oxazoline, and 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline have been synthesized, and their thermal properties and solution behavior in aqueous and nonaqueous media have been investigated via DSC, TGA, and UV-vis measurements, respectively. Finally, their ability as a dispersant for carbonized materials in nonaqueous medium is evaluated using carbon black.