AFM image analysis applied to the investigation of elementary reactions in the synthesis of comb star copolymers

The elementary reactions in the synthesis of comb star copolymers were investigated using the atomic force microscopy (AFM) image analysis. From this analysis, it is possible to identify the main side reactions occurring during the synthesis. The synthesis of four-arm star comb polystyrene was achieved in two stages such as synthesis of a four-arm poly(styrene-b-chloroethyl vinyl ether) backbone and grafting polystyryllithium chains [PSLi] onto the reactive chloroether functions of the poly(chloroethyl vinyl ether) [PCEVE] blocks. The results show that although the contribution of each of the two side processes is relatively small, they significantly affect the purity of the targeted four-arm star comb polymers.