Star-shaped polyethylene oxide

As an example Yen and Merrill [45] have synthesized star-shaped polyethylene oxide (PEO) molecules using that method. Polyamidoamine den-drimers were used in that case as a central core. 

PEO is well known for its good water solubility but the use of PEO was limited either to the linear soluble polymers or to hydrogels. The core-first method enables easy preparation of functional star-shaped polyethylene oxide. This easy access to water-soluble multifunctional PEO molecules has widely extended the application of these polymers [80]. 

Materials studied include polyesters and polyethers [73], PMMA [74], star-shaped styrene block copolymers [75, 76], PC [77], isoprene-styrene graft copolymers [76], polyethylene oxide-maleic anhydride-vinyl methyl ether copolymers [78], polybutylene terephthalate [79], PE [80], (phenoxymethyl)thizrane [81], polytrimethylene carbonate [82], polybutylene succinate [83], polymethyldiundecenylsilane [84], poly(N-vinyl carbazole) [85], titanium-containing copolymers [86], styrene-macro zwitterion polymers [87], and poly(octadecene-alt-maleic anhydride) [88]. 

Tong YF, Chen L, He XH, Chen YW. Free mesogen assisted assembly of the star-shaped liquid-crystalltne copolymer/polyethylene oxide solid electrolytes for lithium ion batteries. Electrochim Acta 2014 118 33-40. 

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