Synthesis of amphiphilic diblock copolymer PEG-b-PMMA by atom transfer radical polymerization and investigation of its surface properties

In this paper, poly(ethylene glycol)-block-polymethylmethacrylate (PEG-b-PMMA) diblock copolymer was synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The nanometric layers of the copolymer were coated on the glass substrate by spin coating. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) analysis were used to characterize the copolymer and intermediate products. The water contact angle analysis was used to investigate the surface properties, as well as to investigate the effect of thermal, solvent, and solvent vapor annealing treatments. The results showed that the synthesis of the copolymer was successful, and all the modification methods led to the improvement of the hydrophilicity of the surface, and the solvent annealing was the most effective in making the surface hydrophilic.