1 research outputs found
Triple-Stimuli-Responsive Ferrocene-Containing PEGs in Water and on the Surface
Triple-stimuli-responsive PEG-based
materials are prepared by living anionic ring-opening copolymerization
of ethylene oxide and vinyl ferrocenyl glycidyl ether and subsequent
thiol–ene postpolymerization modification with cysteamine.
The hydrophilicity of these materials can be tuned by three stimuli:
(i) temperature (depending on the comonomer ratio), (ii) oxidation
state of iron centers in the ferrocene moieties, and (iii) pH-value
(through amino groups), both in aqueous solution and at the interface
after covalent attachment to a glass surface. In such materials, the
cloud point temperatures are adjustable in solution by changing oxidation
state and/or pH. On the surface, the contact angle increases with
increasing pH and temperature and after oxidation, making these smart
surfaces interesting for catalytic applications. Also, their redox
response can be switched by temperature and pH, making this material
useful for catalysis and electrochemistry applications. Exemplarily,
the temperature-dependent catalysis of the chemiluminescence of luminol
(a typical blood analysis tool in forensics) was investigated with
these polymers