title: Synthesis of Photodegradable Polystyrene with Trithiocarbonate as Linkages.
abstract: Multiblock polystyrenes (PS) with trithiocarbonate groups as linkages are prepared via reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization using polytrithiocarbonate as a chain transfer agent. The photodegradability of the multiblock PS in the solid state is investigated under UV irradiation at room temperature in an air atmosphere. The experimental results demonstrate that the trithiocarbonate linkages in the multiblock PS can be broken under UV light irradiation at room temperature and the multiblock PS is degraded into separate PS blocks. Gel permeation chromatography measurement reveals that the molecular weight of multiblock PS is reduced from 27 900 to 7900 g mol(-1) after UV light irradiation for 745 h. Moreover, the thermal stability of the multiblock PS is examined and the results indicate that the incorporation of trithiocarbonate shows little influence on the thermal stability of multiblock PS.
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qianbiao
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xiaoqian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Ruke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bai
mesh_terms: D010782:Photolysis; D058105:Polymerization; D011137:Polystyrenes / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D013871:Thiones / Q000737:chemistry*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D011137:Polystyrenes; D013871:Thiones; C013321:trithiocarbonic acid
keywords: RAFT polymerization; multiblock; photodegradable; polystyrene; polytrithiocarbonate