Abstract
This work presents a three-step synthetic procedure to obtain a
hypergrafted copolymer composed of a glassy backbone with flexible
branched pendant segments. The desired hypergrafted structure was
obtained by using a polyfunctional macroinitiator, linear poly(styreneco-
4-hydroxystyrene), to yield polystyrene-graft-hyperbranched
polyglycidol with randomly placed branch junctions. Atomic force
microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and viscometry probed the
aggregation and viscometric behavior of the polymer in DMF and
DMF–LiBr solutions. The polymer exhibited polyelectrolyte behavior
demonstrated by a large increase in the reduced viscosity prior to
neutralization with LiBr salt. Additionally, conformational changes
were observed by dynamic light scattering in both the average
aggregate size and aggregate population with the addition of LiBr salt.