Molecular Properties of Protonated Diallylammonium Polymers Synthesized via Reversible Addition−Fragmentation Chain-Transfer Polymerization

Abstract

Protonated diallylammonium polymers are special among cationic polyelectrolytes, due to a series of properties including high antimicrobial activity, for example, towards Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The polymers samples should be characterized properly for their practical application. In this study, protonated secondary polydiallylamines based on diallylammonium trifluoroacetate have been synthesized via radical reversible addition−fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization in the presence of 2-[(ethoxycarbonothioyl)sulfanyl]acetic acid. The NMR spectroscopy data have shown that the macromolecules contain the dithiocarbonyl terminal groups enhancing the polymer solubility in nonaqueous media, for instance, in methanol. The obtained polymers have been investigated by means of hydrodynamics and dynamic light scattering methods; molecular mass and hydrodynamic parameters of the macromolecules have been determined. Comparison of the polymers with similar ones synthesized via conventional radical polymerization and bearing terminal vinyl groups has revealed the independence of their hydrodynamic properties in 1.0 mol/L NaCl on the synthesis method and the terminal groups structure at М > 8 × 10³, thus allowing the application of the scaling relationships for the diallylammonium polymers to determine the molecular mass, irrespectively on the preparation methods.