Synthesis and SANS Characterization of Poly(vinyl methyl ether)- block -polystyrene

A solid technique to synthesize genuine diblock copolymers of poly(vinyl methyl ether) (PVME) and polystyrene (PS) for the phase behavior study was developed by the coupling reaction between end-chlorinated PVME and living PS anions. The phase behavior of the block copolymer with deuterium-labeled PS (PVME- b -DPS) was investigated by the small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique. The existence of a single broad peak in the SANS profile strongly suggested the formation of PVME- b -DPS block copolymer. Although the block copolymer was totally in the disordered state within the temperature range between 34 and 206 °C, an increase in the scattering intensity with temperature implying an increase in the amplitude of thermal concentration fluctuation was clearly observed, as expected from the LCST-type phase behavior of PVME/PS blends.