Thermoresponsive copolymers of ethylene oxide and N,N-diethyl glycidyl amine: polyether polyelectrolytes and PEGylated gold nanoparticle formation.

The synthesis of diblock as well as gradient copolymers of N,N-diethyl glycidyl amine (DEGA) with ethylene oxide (EO) via anionic ring-opening polymerization is presented. The polymers exhibit low polydispersities (≤1.13) and molecular weights in the range of 3300-10 200 g mol(-1) . In PEG-co-PDEGA copolymers, incorporation of 4%-29% DEGA results in tailorable cloud point temperatures in aqueous solution and melting points depending on DEGA content. mPEG-b-PDEGA block copolymers can be quaternized to generate cationic double-hydrophilic polyelectrolyte copolymers with polyether backbone. Furthermore, mPEG-b-PDEGA has been used as dual reducing and capping agent for gold nanoparticle synthesis.