Janus Effect of Lewis Acid Enables One-Step Block Copolymerization of Ethylene Oxide and N-Sulfonyl Aziridine.

ABSTRACT

One-step sequence-selective block copolymerization requires stringent catalytic control of monomers relative activity and enchainment order. It has been especially rare for An Bm -type block copolymers from simple binary monomer mixtures. Here, ethylene oxide (EO) and N-sulfonyl aziridine (Az) compose a valid pair provided with a bicomponent metal-free catalyst. Optimal Lewis acid/base ratio allows the two monomers to strictly block-copolymerize in a reverse order (EO-first) as compared with the conventional anionic route (Az-first). Livingness of the copolymerization facilitates one-pot synthesis of multiblock copolymers by addition of mixed monomers in batches. Calculation results reveal that a Janus effect of Lewis acid on the two monomers is key to enlarge the activity difference and reverse the enchainment order.