Synthesis of Comb Tri- and Tetrablock Copolymers Catalyzed by the Grubbs First Generation Catalyst

High molecular weight tri- and tetrablock copolymers were synthesized from the commercially available Grubbs first generation catalyst for the first time. These polymers had degrees of polymerization from 430 to 1100, molecular weights up to 419 000 g . mol(-1), and narrow polydispersities. Oxanorbornene monomers were chosen due to their fast rates of polymerization and slow rates of cross metathesis. Polystyrene arms were grown from selected blocks by atom transfer radical polymerization to yield architecturally complex comb tri- and tetrablock copolymers. These polymers self-assembled in the solid state into ordered morphologies that were characterized by scanning electron microscopy.