Design and synthesis of stimuli-responsive ion-containing block copolymers

Sponsor: ASU Start-up funds

Ion-containing block copolymers are a tremendously powerful platform for biomedical therapeutics, separations membranes, and polymer nanocomposites. They are designer materials that enable precise control over polymer functionality to deliver synergistic nanoscale features and optimal performance. Thus, ion-containing block copolymers offer strategies for intelligent hierarchical material design by combining task-specific microphases that can provide robust mechanical properties, mediate transport, or tune interfacial or surface interactions and functionality. Effective design of ion-containing block copolymers begins at the molecular level, as novel ion-containing monomers with distinctive attributes are derived from innumerable variations in chemical structure. Specifically, ion-containing block copolymers introduce a plethora of tunable variables and functional handles: ion type (e.g., cation—ammonium, phosphonium, imidazolium, etc.; anion—phosphonate, sulfonate, etc.; or zwitterion—sulfobetaine), charge density, and charge location within the polymer. We are interested in designing these materials for separations membranes, amphiphilic solution assemblies for targeted drug delivery, and stimuli-responsive and intelligent polymeric nanocomposites. Designing, synthesizing, and testing novel ion-containing block copolymers will build fundamental structure-property relationships and catalyze the development of intelligent materials.