Abstract
Five different polymers, poly[methyl methacrylate] (PMMA), poly[lauryl methacrylate] (PLMA), poly[diethylene glycol methacrylate] (PDEGMA), poly[N-iso-propylacrylamide] (PNIPA), and poly[styrene] (PS) prepared by the RAFT process and thus terminated with dithioesters were aminolyzed in the presence of S-3-butynyl methane thiosulfonate (MTS), which was synthesized in two steps. Analysis of the polymers by 2D NMR, UV–vis absorbance, and gel permeation chromatogra-phy revealed them to quantitatively carry acetylene end groups connected with disul-fide bridges, indicating that functional MTS reagents can be employed for end group functionalization of RAFT polymers. This versatile method is of advantage compared with conjugations with functional maleimides, where isolation of terminal thiols is of-ten required but inexpedient for poly[(meth)acrylates] because their terminal thiols may undergo backbiting and thus avoid conjugation. The acetylene-terminated poly-mers were bound to an azide functionalized glass surface in a Cu(I) catalyzed cyclo-addition. The modified surfaces exhibited water contact angles corresponding to the polarity of the attached polymers. In the case of the stimulus responsive polymers PNIPA and PDEGMA, the surfaces showed temperature-dependent contact angles. The disulfide bond connecting the polymers to the surface could be selectively cleaved and resulted in all surfaces having the same contact angle, independent of the nature of the polymer prior attached to the surface.