Dong, X; Zhang, W.-B.;* Li, Y.; Zhang, S.; Huang, M.; Cheng, S. Z. D.* Synthesis of Fullerene-Containing Poly(ethylene oxide)-block-Polystyrene as Model Shape Amphiphiles with Variable Composition, Diverse Architecture, and High Fullerene Functionality. Polym. Chem. 2012, 3, 124-134. [Link] [PDF]

Abstract
A series of [60]fullerene (C60)-containing poly(ethylene oxide)-block-polystyrene (PEO-b-PS) with various numbers and different locations of C60 along the polymer chains were designed and synthesized via a combination of “click” chemistry and living/controlled polymerization techniques such as anionic polymerization, atom transfer radical polymerization, and reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. One C60 was tethered either to the end of a PS block (PEO-b-PS-C60) or at the junction point between PS and PEO blocks [PEO-(C60)-PS]; while multiple C60s could be attached randomly along the PS block (PEO-b-PS/C60). The reaction conditions were carefully controlled to ensure a quantitative C60 functionality at precise locations in the case of PEO-b-PS-C60 and PEO-(C60)-PS and to avoid crosslinking in the synthesis of PEO-b-PS/C60. The results have implications in the precision synthesis of fullerene polymers in general. These C60-containing diblock copolymers possess different composition, diverse architecture, and high fullerene functionality. They can serve as model “shape amphiphiles” for the construction of complex hierarchical structures via the interplay between C60–C60 aggregation and block copolymer self-assembly/micro-phase separation.