Macroporous silicagel substrate for stereoregular template polymerization of methacrylic acid using stereocomplex assembled thin films

Abstract

Macroporous silicagel (diameter: 7 μm, pore: 100 nm) was selected as a suitable substrate for the stereoregular template polymerization of methacrylic acid (MA) in the presence of isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (it-PMMA). A stereocomplex of it-PMMA and syndiotactic poly(methacrylic acid) (st-PMAA) was formed using Layer-by-layer assembly on macroporous silicagel. The subsequent extraction of the st-PMAA provided a porous it-PMMA thin film as a stereoregular, radical polymerization field for MA, and the reproducibility of this syndiospecific polymerization was confirmed. © 2009 The Society of Polymer Science.