Regular star polymers with 64 and 128 arms. Models for polymeric micelles

TLDR: Carbosilane dendrimers with 64 and 128 surface Si-Cl bonds were used as coupling reagents for monodisperse poly(butadienyl)lithium as discussed by the authors.

Abstract: Carbosilane dendrimers with 64 and 128 surface Si-Cl bonds were used as coupling reagents for monodisperse poly(butadienyl)lithium. Two series of regular star polybutadienes with 64 and 128 arms were prepared. The arm molecular weight was varied between 6400 and 72 000. The dilute-solution properties of the stars were determined in a good solvent (cyclohexane) and in a θ-solvent (dioxane) for polybutadiene. Measurements of R G . A 2 , D 0 , and [η] indicate that the isolated stars behave as hard spheres. The ratio of the hydrodynamic radius over the radius of gyration is slightly larger than (5/3) 1/2