In this paper, we report the synthesis of oxygen (O 2 )-switchable thermo-responsive random copolymers based on fluorinated acrylamide monomer homologues: N -(2-fluoroethyl)acrylamide (F1EA), N -(2,2-difluoroethyl)acrylamide (F2EA), and N -(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)acrylamide (F3EA).
In this paper, we report the synthesis of oxygen (O 2 )-switchable thermo-responsive random copolymers based on fluorinated acrylamide monomer homologues: N -(2-fluoroethyl)acrylamide (F1EA), N -(2,2-difluoroethyl)acrylamide (F2EA), and N -(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)acrylamide (F3EA). Copolymerizing these monomers with N , N -dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMA) via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization yields thermo-responsive random copolymers, which have dual switchability towards O 2 and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). The inherent low critical solution temperature (LCST) of these copolymers can be precisely designed in a wide range of temperatures by varying their chemical compositions. Importantly, this LCST can be reversibly switched to different levels by respectively purging O 2 or CO 2 into the aqueous solution, and can be recovered to its initial state by washing off the trigger gas. This work provides a versatile and effective approach for the preparation of O 2 -responsive polymers, with a big operation window of temperature.