Enzyme-assisted Photoinitiated Polymerization-induced Self-assembly in Continuous Flow Reactors with Oxygen Tolerance

• Published in: Chinese journal of polymer science Vol. 39; no. 9; pp. 1127 - 1137
• Main Authors: Cai, Wei-Bin, Liu, Dong-Dong, Chen, Ying, Zhang, Li, Tan, Jian-Bo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Chemistry, CAS 01.09.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Argon; Block copolymers; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Condensed Matter Physics; Continuous flow; Degree of polymerization; Enzymes; Formulations; Glucose oxidase; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Inert atmospheres; Morphology; Oxygen; Polymer Sciences; Polymerization; Reactors; Room temperature; Self-assembly; Oxygen tolerance; Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization; Polymerization-induced self-assembly; Photoinitiation
• ISSN: 0256-7679; 1439-6203
• DOI: 10.1007/s10118-021-2533-z

Polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) is an emerging method for the preparation of block copolymer nano-objects at high concentrations. However, most PISA formulations have oxygen inhibition problems and inert atmospheres ( e.g. argon, nitrogen) are usually required. Moreover, the large-scale preparation of block copolymer nano-objects at room temperature is challenging. Herein, we report an enzyme-assisted photoinitiated polymerization-induced self-assembly (photo-PISA) in continuous flow reactors with oxygen tolerance. The addition of glucose oxidase (GOx) and glucose into the reaction mixture can consume oxygen efficiently and constantly, allow the flow photo-PISA to be performed under open-air conditions. Polymerization kinetics indicated that only a small amount of GOx (0.5 μmol/L) was needed to achieve the oxygen tolerance. Block copolymer nano-objects with different morphologies can be prepared by varying reaction conditions including the degree of polymerization (DP) of core-forming block, monomer concentration, reaction temperature, and solvent composition. We expect this study will provide a facile platform for the large-scale production of block copolymer nano-objects with different morphologies at room temperature.