Fabrication of poly (4,4′-oxybisbenzenamine) and its conjugated copolymers initiated by easily accessible carbon dots

A new diamine-functionalized polyether polymer, poly-(4,4′-oxybisbenzenamine) (POBBA), and copolymers containing the POBBA motif were synthesized via the use of carbon dot free radical initiators. Although previous work in our group has reported carbon dot-initiated polymerization reactions in combination with UV light, the long reaction times and requirement for UV light limited the general applicability of this method. In our present work, we report a significant improvement over our previous method by eliminating the requirement for UV light as a co-initiator and by significantly improving the reaction times. The structure of the newly synthesized POBBA and a variety of POBBA-containing copolymers were confirmed by various analytical techniques, including Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Solid-State NMR spectroscopy. The morphology and particle size distribution of the newly synthesized polymers were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS). Kinetic studies of the polymerization reaction at varying reaction temperatures and reaction times, as well as studies on the initiator efficacy of the carbon dots, are also reported, and results highlight the facile initiation and rapid polymer generation.