In this study, well-defined double-hydrophilic triblock copolymers, consisting of hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and hydrophobic poly(N,N-diethylamino-2-ethylmethacrylate) (PDEAEMA), were synthesized and characterized. The molecular weights of the copolymers were controllable. In the basic environments, the copolymers can self-assemble into the PDEAEMA core and PEG corona micelles in aqueous solution with an average size of 40–180 nm. The low critical micelle concentration (CMC, about 10− 3 mg mL− 1) of copolymers investigated in pH 7.4 aqueous solution confirmed the adequate thermodynamic stability of their self-assembly. As shown in the cytotoxicity assay, the copolymers have good biocompatibility. Doxorubicin (DOX) was encapsulated into the triblock copolymer micelles. The drug loading efficiency and entrapment efficiency values of DOX-loaded micelles reached 8.14% and 88.6%, respectively. The DOX release of the drug-loaded micelles depends on the pH values. These phenomena indicated that the double-hydrophilic PDEAEMA–PEG–PDEAEMA triblock copolymers have a potential application in the drug delivery.

•HDI/IPDI hybrid isocyanurates were prepared and characterized.•Composition of hybrid isocyanurate was linear relationship with feed ratio.•Polyurethane coatings prepared with hybrid isocyanurate had better physical properties.A solvent-free hybrid isocyanurate was prepared by trimerization of hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), and characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), gas chromatography (GC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The results showed that HDI/IPDI hybrid isocyanurate could be prepared in the presence of 2-hydroxypropyl-trimethyl-azanium catalyst at reaction temperatures between 50 °C and 70 °C. Both the GC and 1H NMR analyses identified the favorable linear relationship between the feed ratio of the starting monomers and the amount of each individual isocyanate incorporated into the oligomer (reaction ratio). The polyurethane coatings prepared with HDI/IPDI hybrid isocyanurates demonstrated faster drying speed, higher hardness and gloss and better distinctness-of-image (DOI) than the analogous coatings prepared with cold-blends of HDI isocyanurate and IPDI isocyanurate.A hybrid isocyanurate was prepared by trimerization of HDI and IPDI, and the results identified the favorable linear relationship between the feed ratio of the starting monomers and the amount of each individual isocyanate incorporated into isocyanurate. The polyurethane coatings prepared with HDI/IPDI hybrid isocyanurates demonstrated faster drying speed, higher hardness and gloss and better distinctness-of-image than the analogous coatings prepared with cold-blends of HDI isocyanurate and IPDI isocyanurate.

Hybrid isocyanurate was prepared by solvent-free trimerization of hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and bis(isocyanatomethyl) cyclohexane (ADI), and characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), gas chromatography (GC), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI–MS). The results showed that ADI/HDI hybrid isocyanurate could be prepared with 2-hydroxypropyl-trimethyl-azanium catalyst at reaction temperatures between 50°C and 70°C. Both the GC and 1H NMR analyses identified a favorable linear relationship between the feed ratio of the starting monomers and the amount of each individual isocyanate incorporated into the oligomer (reaction ratio). Compared to coatings prepared from the mixture of ADI isocyanurate and HDI isocyanurate, the coatings from ADI/HDI hybrid isocyanurate possess higher distinctness of image.

•Novel amines with different length of flexible polyoxypropylene side chain (AFPE) were synthesized.•The non-isothermal curing kinetics of DGEBA/AFPEs were studied in detail.•Structure, morphology and physical properties of AFPEs modified diethylenetriamine/DGEBA systems were studied, and results showed that AFPE was a novel and effective toughening agent for epoxy resins.A novel amine with flexible polyoxypropylene side chain (AFPE) was synthesized and characterized with FT-IR and NMR. Then, AFPEs with different molecular weight were used as a curing agent for diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), and non-isothermal reaction was detected with DSC. The kinetic parameters of the curing process were determined by Málek method. A two-parameter (m, n) autocatalytic model (Šesták–Berggren equation) was found to be adequate to describe the reaction-controlled kinetics of the studied epoxy resins, yet was insufficient in depicting the diffusion-controlled kinetics of the epoxy resins. The values of Ea depended on the molecular weight of AFPEs, and increased with longer polyoxypropylene chain length in the AFPE. Dynamic mechanical analysis of AFPEs modified DGEBA/diethylenetriamine systems found that with the increasing molecular weight of AFPEs, α relaxation temperature, β relaxation temperature and crosslinking density decreased, while impact strength and elongation at break improved. From scanning electron microscope, tensile surfaces were rougher and sizes of cavities in the surface became larger with the increasing molecular weight of AFPEs. Our study showed that AFPE was a novel and effective toughening agent for epoxy resins.