Surfactant-Emulating Amphiphilic Polycarbonates and Other Functional Polycarbonates through Metal-Free Copolymerization of CO₂ with Ethylene Oxide

Three types of ethylene oxide-based and carbonate-containing copolymers were prepared through copolymerization oxide (EO) with CO2 under metal-free conditions in the presence triethylborane (TEB), using onium salts (OS) as initiator. Hydrophobic poly[(ethylene carbonate)x-co-(ethylene oxide)y] (PECEO) samples carbonate contents above 90% (x ? y) first a pressure 10–30 bar ratio [TEB] to [OS] 1–1.2 equiv tetrahydrofuran (THF) or hexane. The PECEO (carbonate > 91%) then served macroinitiator grow two external poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) blocks generate one-pot amphiphilic PEO-b-PECEO-b-PEO triblocks. Lastly, EO low (1–2 bar) 1.2–2.0 afforded hydrophilic oxide)y-co-(ethylene carbonate)x] (PEOEC) random below 10% (y x); allyl glycidyl ether (AGE) was also terpolymerized same introduce functional groups along backbone PEO chains. Critical micelle concentrations (CMC) size micelles measured for compared values other nonionic surfactants. properties “PEO-like” PEOECs characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wettability test; their degradation behavior further investigated different conditions.