PBA-PMMA 3-arm star block copolymer thermoplastic elastomers

摘要

A series of well-defined poly(methyl methacrylate)-block-poly(butyl acrylate) 3-arm star block copolymers have been synthesized by ATRP. The incorporation of polar hard segment of PMMA was made possible with the aid of halogen exchange technique. Phase-separated morphology of cylindrical PMMA domains hexagonally arranged in the pBA matrix was observed by small angle X-ray scattering in all studied materials. The mechanical and thermal properties of the PBA-PMMA 3-arm star block copolymers have been thoroughly characterized and their thermoplastic elastomer behavior was studied. It was found that the tensile properties of these materials are comparable with those of their linear ABA type block copolymer counterparts with similar compositions.