Synthesis of polystyrene-poly(tert-butyl acrylate) diblock copolymers bearing fluorescent groups at the junctions

AB-type diblock copolymers composed of polystyrene as the A block and poly(tert-butyl acrylate) as the B block were synthesized by sequential anionic polymerization. 1-(2-Anthryl)-1-phenylethylene, a new fluorescent monomer, and 1-(9-phenanthryl)-1-phenylethylene were used to introduce fluorescent moieties at the block junctions. Ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy and gelpermeation chromatography (GPC) analyses were used to characterize the prepared copolymers.