Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 2014, 53, 1900–1908

This paper first achieved a triplet “backbone molecular structure-Ca²⁺ responsivity-synthesis methodology” multi-scale study in the field of chemistry through preparing a series of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)-based pH-responsive brush copolymers (i.e. poly(methyl methacrylate (MMA)-co-2- (2-bromoisobutyryloxy)ethyl methacrylate (BIEM)-graft-acrylic acid (AA)) with three backbone composition profiles (random, gradient and block) and investigating the effect of backbone composition profile on their Ca²⁺ responsivity. And then, chemical product engineering perspective was introduced to develop these PAA-based pH-responsive brush copolymers into new chemical products which may be used in water softening. The preceding triplet “backbone molecular structure-Ca²⁺ responsivity-synthesis methodology” multi-scale study was closely related to the completing of chemical product pyramid in chemical product engineering field. The whole study can be seen as a case study of manufacturing a useful product with desired function from individual molecules based on chemical polymerization method and chemical product engineering perspective. It connects the microscopic and macroscopic world and bridges the gap between chemistry and chemical product engineering.

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