Patent ID: 9562127
Date: 2017-02-07
CPC Classifications: B82Y,C08F,C08G,C09D,G03F

Claim:
1. A method, comprising: forming a reaction mixture for a ring opening polymerization (ROP), the reaction mixture comprising a cyclic carbonyl monomer, a polymeric initiator for the ROP, a ROP catalyst, and a solvent, wherein the polymeric initiator comprises i) a polymer backbone comprising repeating functionalized ethylene units and ii) 1 to 2 nucleophilic groups capable of initiating a ROP of the cyclic carbonyl monomer; allowing the cyclic carbonyl monomer to polymerize by ROP until 85% or more of the cyclic carbonyl monomer is consumed, thereby forming a second mixture comprising an initial block polymer, wherein the initial block polymer comprises a first block linked to a second block, the first block comprising the polymer backbone comprising repeating functionalized ethylene units, the second block comprising a backbone derived from ROP of the cyclic carbonyl monomer, the first block substantially immiscible with the second block; precipitating the initial block polymer from the second mixture by adding a solvent to the second mixture; fractionating the precipitated initial block polymer by a process comprising a) forming a solution of the precipitated initial block polymer in a minimal amount of a solvent capable of dissolving each block of the block polymer and b) combining the solution with a solvent mixture comprising i) a first solvent which is a non-solvent for the first block and a non-solvent for the second block, and ii) a second solvent comprising a nitrile group, the second solvent which is a non-solvent for the first block and a solvent for the second block, wherein the first solvent:second solvent volume ratio is about 40:60 to about 60:40, thereby precipitating a final block polymer that is free of, or substantially free of, any polymer having a chemical structure that contains none of the polymer backbone of the polymeric initiator, and wherein the final block copolymer is capable of self-assembly to form a phase separated domain pattern comprising alternating domains of the first block and the second block.