Kinetic Modeling of ICAR ATRP

Kinetic modeling is used to better understand and optimize initiators for continuous activator regeneration atom‐transfer radical polymerization (ICAR ATRP). The polymerization conditions are adjusted as a function of the ATRP catalyst reactivity for two monomers, methyl methacrylate and styrene. In order to prepare a well‐controlled ICAR ATRP process with a low catalyst amount (ppm level), a sufficiently low initial concentration of conventional radical initiator relative to the initial ATRP initiator is required. In some cases, stepwise addition of a conventional radical initiator is needed to reach high conversion. Under such conditions, the equilibrium of the activation/deactivation process for macromolecular species can be established already at low conversion.

     

A Copper-Based Reverse ATRP Process for the Living Radical Polymerization of 4-Vinylpyridine: Discussion on Optimum Reaction Conditions

In this original experiment, reverse atom transfer radical polymerization technique using CuCl₂/hexamethyl tris[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]amine (Me₆-TREN) as catalyst complex was applied to living radical polymerization of 4-vinylpyridine (4VP) with azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator. N,N-Dimethylformamide was used as solvent to improve the solubility of the reaction system. The polymerization not only showed the best control of molecular weight and its distribution, but also provided a rather rapid reaction rate with the molar ratio of [4VP]:[AIBN]:[CuCl₂]:[Me₆-TREN] = 400:1:2:2. The rate of polymerization increased with increasing the polymerization temperature and the apparent activation energy was calculated to be 51.5 kJ· mol¹. Use of Cl as the halogen in copper halide had many advantages over the use of Br. The resulting poly(4-vinylpyridine) was successfully used as the macroinitiator to proceed the block polymerization of styrene in the presence of CuCl/Me₆-TREN catalyst complex via a conventional ATRP process in DMF.     

Cu(II)‐Mediated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate via a Strategy of Thermo‐Regulated Phase‐Separable Catalysis in a Liquid/Liquid Biphasic System: Homogeneous Catalysis,Facile Heterogeneous Separation,and Recycling

A strategy of thermo‐regulated phase‐separable catalysis (TPSC) is applied to the Cu(II)‐mediated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in a p‐xylene/PEG‐200 biphasic system. Initiators for continuous activator regeneration ATRP (ICAR ATRP) are used to establish the TPSC‐based ICAR ATRP system using water‐soluble TPMA as a ligand, EBPA as an initiator, CuBr₂ as a catalyst, and AIBN as a reducing agent. By heating to 70 °C, unlimited miscibility of both solvents is achieved and the polymerization can be carried out under homogeneous conditions; then on cooling to 25 °C, the mixture separates into two phases again. As a result, the catalyst complex remains in the PEG‐200 phase while the obtained polymers stay in the p‐xylene phase. The catalyst can therefore be removed from the resultant polymers by easily separating the two different layers and can be reused again. It is important that well‐defined PMMA with a controlled molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution could be obtained using this TPSC‐based ICAR ATRP system.

     

Iron‐Mediated ICAR ATRP of Styrene and Methyl Methacrylate in the Absence of Thermal Radical Initiator

Initiators for continuous activator regeneration in atom transfer radical polymerization (ICAR ATRP) is a new technique for conducting ATRP. ICAR ATRP has many strong advantages over normal ATRP, such as forming the reductive transition metal species in situ using oxidatively stable transition metal species and a lower amount of metal catalyst in comparison with the normal ATRP system. In this work, the iron‐mediated ICAR ATRP of styrene and methyl methacrylate are reported for the first time using oxidatively stable FeCl₃ · 6H₂O as the catalyst in the absence of any thermal radical initiator. The kinetics of the polymerizations and effect of different polymerization conditions are studied. It is found that the polymerization of styrene can be conducted well even if the amount of iron(III ) is as low as 50 ppm.

     

ICAR ATRP of acrylonitrile utilizing a moderate temperature radical initiator

Initiators for continuous activator regeneration atom transfer radical polymerization （ICAR ATRP） of acrylonitrile was first conducted at various ambient temperatures （30-45 ℃）. The key to success is ascribed to the usage of an appropriate low temperature radical initiator （2,2＇-azobis（2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile）） and a high reactivity catalytic system （CuBr2/Me6TREN）. The molar ratio of Cu catalyst tO AN as low as 1：20000 wa.s used to prepare well-defined polyacrylonitrile with controlled molecular weight and a narrow polydispersity index range of 1.08-1.30, while the monomer conversion was up to ca. 98%. The apparent activation energy of the polymerization was calculated to be 128.45 kJ/mol, suggesting that the polymerization strongly depended on reaction temperature. The very high chain-end functionality of the resultant polymer was confirmed by ^1H-NMR and GPC analyses as well as chain extension reaction.     

Highly active copper-based catalyst for atom transfer radical polymerization

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) generally requires a catalyst/initiator molar ratio of 0.1 to 1 and catalyst/monomer molar ratio of 0.001 to 0.01 (i.e., catalyst concentration: 1000-10,000 ppm versus monomer). Herein, we report a new copper-based complex CuBr/N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine (TPEN) as a versatile and highly active catalyst for acrylic, methacrylic, and styrenic monomers. The catalyst mediated ATRP at a catalyst/initiator molar ratio of 0.005 and produced polymers with well-controlled molecular weights and low polydispersities. ATRP occurred even at a catalyst/initiator molar ratio as low as 0.001 with copper concentration in the produced polymers as low as 6-8 ppm (catalyst/monomer molar ratio = 10(-5)). The catalyst structures were studied by X-ray diffraction and NMR spectroscopy. The activator CuIBr/TPEN existed in solution as binuclear and mononuclear complexes in equilibrium but as a binuclear complex in its single crystals. The deactivator CuIIBr2/TPEN complex was mononuclear. High stability and appropriate KATRP (ATRP equilibrium constant) were found crucial for the catalyst working under high dilution or in coordinating solvents/monomers. This provides guidance for further design of highly active ATRP catalysts.     

微波辐照下丙烯酰胺的原子转移自由基共聚合

在微波辐射下,以水为反应介质,2-氯丙酰胺为引发剂,氯化亚铜/2,2′-联吡啶为催化体系,自制的磺基甜菜碱两性离子功能单体3-(2-甲基丙烯酰氧乙基二甲胺基)丙磺酸盐(DMAPS)与丙烯酰胺(AM)单体进行原子转移自由基共聚合反应,得到磺基甜菜碱型两性离子聚合物P(AM-DMAPS)。 讨论了微波功率、反应时间、单体用量、引发剂用量、催化剂和配体用量等因素对聚合反应的影响,并与相应的热聚合法进行了对照。 结果表明,微波辐射功率240 W,反应时间为1250 s时,微波辐射下共聚合的表观速率常数(Kappp)为热聚合法4.5倍,此时AM与DMAPS在水介质中的最佳合成条件为:单体总浓度4 mol/L(其中功能性单体DMAPS在混合单体中所占摩尔分数为1.0%),引发剂浓度0.015 mol/L,催化剂浓度0.01 mol/L。 此时转化率为40.15%,Mn为46410。     

原子转移自由基聚合引发体系的最新研究进展

本文介绍了关于原子转移自由基聚合（ATRP）引发-活化-失活过程的最新研究情况,包括RATRP、SR&NI ATRP、AGET ATRP、ARGET ATRP以及ICAR ATRP等新型ATRP引发体系。这些新型ATRP体系逐渐克服了通常ATRP体系的局限性,尤其是后两种体系仅需微量（1～50 ppm）价态稳定的过渡金属络合物调控聚合,大大简化了ATRP方法的工业化生产程序;本文同时介绍了杂化及双金属ATRP催化体系,这两种新型催化体系具有较高的催化活性和对聚合反应的调控能力,而且通过简单地过滤或沉降就可从聚合产物当中脱除。     

The Influence of Activating Agents on the Controlled Synthesis of Poly(methyl methacrylate) in the Presence of Ruthenacarboranes

The radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate catalyzed by systems based on the carborane complexes of ruthenium(III) is studied in the presence of a number of activating agents: tin 2-ethyl hexanoate, aluminum isopropoxide, isopropylamine, and AIBN. It is shown that in the presence of the systems under consideration, polymerization proceeds in a controlled mode via the ATRP mechanism (AGET or ICAR ATRP) at catalyst concentrations with ppm level relative to that of the monomer. As the degree of monomer conversion grows, the molecular weight of the polymer increases linearly while its polydispersity coefficients decrease linearly. The role of the mentioned agents is to transfer the catalyst to the active form containing a metal atom in the oxidation number +2 and able to interact with halogen-terminated dormant polymer chains. It is first shown that the carborane complexes of ruthenium(II) are applicable for the catalysis of controlled radical polymerization.     

Atom transfer radical copolymerization of acrylonitrile and ethyl methacrylate at ambient temperature

Copolymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) and ethyl methacrylate (EMA) using copper‐based atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) at ambient temperature (30 °C) using various initiators has been investigated with the aim of achieving control over molecular weight distribution. The effect of variation of concentration of the initiator, ligand, catalyst, and temperature on the molecular weight distribution and kinetics were investigated. No polymerization at ambient temperature was observed with N,N,N′,N′,N″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) ligand. The rate of polymerization exhibited 0.86 order dependence with respect to 2‐bromopropionitrile (BPN) initiator. The first‐order kinetics was observed using BPN as initiator, while curvature in first‐order kinetic plot was obtained for ethyl 2‐bromoisobutyrate (EBiB) and methyl 2‐bromopropionate (MBP), indicating that termination was taking place. Successful polymerization was also achieved with catalyst concentrations of 25 and 10% relative to initiator without loss of control over polymerization. The optimum [bpy]₀/[CuBr]₀ molar ratio for the copolymerization of AN and EMA through ATRP was found to be 3/1. For three different in‐feed ratios, the variation of copolymer composition (F_AN) with conversion indicated toward the synthesis of copolymers having slight changes in composition with conversion. The high chain‐end functionality of the synthesized AN‐EMA copolymers was verified by further chain extension with methyl acrylate and styrene. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1975–1984, 2006     

Synthesis of well‐defined polyacrylonitrile by ICAR ATRP with low concentrations of catalyst

Acrylonitrile (AN) was polymerized by initiators for continuous activator regeneration (ICAR) atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The effect of the ligand, tris(2‐pyridylmethyl)amine (TPMA) and N,N,N',N'‐tetrakis(2‐pyridylmethyl)ethylenediamine (TPEN), in the Cu‐based catalyst, the amount of catalyst, several alkyl halide initiators, targeted degree of polymerization, and amount of azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) added were studied. It was determined that the best conditions utilized 50 ppm of CuBr₂/TPMA as the catalyst and 2‐bromopropionitrile (BPN) as the initiator. This combination resulted in 46% conversion in 10 h and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with the narrowest molecular weight distribution (M_w/M_n = 1.11–1.21). Excellent control was maintained after lowering the catalyst loading to 10 ppm, with 56% conversion in 10 h, experimental molecular weight closely matching the theoretical value, and low dispersity (M_w/M_n < 1.30). Catalyst loadings as low as 1 ppm still provided well‐controlled polymerizations of AN by ICAR ATRP, with 65% conversion in 10 h and PAN with relatively low dispersity (M_w/M_n = 1.41). High chain end functionality (CEF) was confirmed via ¹H NMR analysis, for short PAN chains, and via clean chain extensions with n‐butyl acrylate (BA). © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 1961–1968     

A new tetradentate ligand for atom transfer radical polymerization

The properties of a ligand, including molecular structure and substituents, strongly affect the catalyst activity and control of the polymerization in atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). A new tetradentate ligand, N,N′‐bis(pyridin‐2‐ylmethyl‐3‐hexoxo‐3‐oxopropyl)ethane‐1,2‐diamine (BPED) was synthesized and examined as the ligand of copper halide for ATRP of styrene (St), methyl acrylate (MA), and methyl methacrylate (MMA), and compared with other analogous linear tetrdendate ligands. The BPED ligand was found to significantly promote the activation reaction: the CuBr/BPED complex reacted with the initiators so fast that a large amount of Cu(II)Br₂/BPED was produced and thus the polymerizations were slow for all the monomers. The reaction of CuCl/BPED with the initiator was also fast, but by reducing the catalyst concentration or adding CuCl₂, the activation reaction could be slowed to establish the equilibrium of ATRP for a well‐controlled living polymerization of MA. CuCl/BPED was found very active for the polymerization of MA. For example, 10 mol% of the catalyst relatively to the initiator was sufficient to mediate a living polymerization of MA. The CuCl/BPED, however, could not catalyze a living polymerization of MMA because the resulting CuCl₂/BPED could not deactivate the growing radicals. The effects of the ligand structures on the catalysis of ATRP are also discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 3553–3562, 2004     

甲基丙烯酸甲酯的原子转移自由基悬浮聚合

以 1 苯基氯乙烷为引发剂 ,氯化亚铜为催化剂 ,2 ,2 联吡啶为配体 ,外加搅拌 ,氮气保护下进行了甲基丙烯酸甲酯 (MMA)在 80℃下的原子转移悬浮聚合 .结果表明 ,聚合反应符合对单体浓度为一级的动力学关系 .经计算聚合体系的增长自由基浓度为 5 .74× 10 - 8mol L .聚合物分子量随转化率呈线性增加 ,分子量分布较窄 ,Mw Mn 在 1.37～ 1.40之间 .还以AIBN为引发剂 ,在三氯化铁和三苯基膦存在下进行了MMA的反向原子转移本体和悬浮聚合研究 .结果证明本体聚合具有好的可控特征 ,分子量随转化率呈线性增长 ,分子量分布指数在 1.2 7～ 1.31之间 .聚合反应速率较快 ,聚合体系中的增长自由基浓度较高 ,为 1.6 4× 10 - 7mol L .而在此催化体系下的悬浮聚合则完全失去了活性特征     

Diffusion‐Regulated Phase‐Transfer Catalysis for Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate in an Aqueous/Organic Biphasic System

A concept based on diffusion‐regulated phase‐transfer catalysis (DRPTC) in an aqueous‐organic biphasic system with copper‐mediated initiators for continuous activator regeneration is successfully developed for atom transfer radical polymerization (ICAR ATRP) (termed DRPTC‐based ICAR ATRP here), using methyl methacrylate (MMA) as a model monomer, ethyl α‐bromophenylacetate (EBrPA) as an initiator, and tris(2‐pyridylmethyl)amine (TPMA) as a ligand. In this system, the monomer and initiating species in toluene (organic phase) and the catalyst complexes in water (aqueous phase) are simply mixed under stirring at room temperature. The trace catalyst complexes transfer into the organic phase via diffusion to trigger ICAR ATRP of MMA with ppm level catalyst content once the system is heated to the polymerization temperature (75 °C). It is found that well‐defined PMMA with controlled molecular weights and narrow molecular weight distributions can be obtained easily. Furthermore, the polymerization can be conducted in the presence of limited amounts of air without using tedious degassed procedures. After cooling to room temperature, the upper organic phase is decanted and the lower aqueous phase is reused for another 10 recycling turnovers with ultra low loss of catalyst and ligand loading. At the same time, all the recycled catalyst complexes retain nearly perfect catalytic activity and controllability, indicating a facile and economical strategy for catalyst removal and recycling.

     

甲基丙烯酸甲酯的反向原子转移自由基聚合反应 研究

在较低的温度(60℃)和较低的AIBN/CuCl~2/配位剂摩尔比(1:2:4)条件下,用乙腈为溶剂,实现了甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA)的反向原子转移自由基聚合(RATRP)。联二吡啶(bpy)为配位剂时,所合成的聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)的分子量分布可低至1.08。用1,10-菲咯啉(phen)代替bpy,MMA的聚合反应速率加快,但其分子量分布稍宽(1.40左右),并进一步研究了bpy和phen作为混合配位剂时对MMA反向ATRP聚合的影响。用RATRP反应所得的带有卤素端基的PMMA作为苯乙烯ATRP的大分子引发剂,成功地合成了具有预期结构的苯乙烯与甲基丙烯酸甲酯嵌段共聚物,大分子引发剂的引发效率接近于1,说明在RATRP过程中由自由基引发剂引发MMA进行一般自由基聚合反应的可能性甚微。     

FeCl3/Acetic Acid-mediated Reverse Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Acrylonitrile

Reverse atom transfer radical polymerization (RATRP) has been successfully applied in the synthesis of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with FeCl₃/acetic acid as catalyst in the presence of conventional initiator azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) at 65°C in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). A FeCl₃ to acetic acid ratio of 1:2 not only gave better control on polymer's molecular weight and its distribution, but also provided a rapid polymerization rate compared with any other molar ratio of FeCl₃ to acetic acid. The polymerization rate increased with increasing temperature and the apparent activation energy was calculated to be 80.6 kJ·mol^?1. In comparison with dimethyl sulfoxide, acetonitrile, cyclohexanone and ethyl acetate, DMF was considered to be the best solvent of the polymerization for its polarity. Analysis of ¹H-NMR further confirmed the living nature of the polymerization.     

Copper Catalyzed ATRP of Methyl Methacrylate Using Aliphatic α-Bromo Ketone Initiator

The atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of MMA was examined using 3-bromo-3-methyl-butanone-2 (MBB) as an initiator in the presence of CuBr as catalyst and 2,6-bis[1-(2,6-diisopropylphenylimino)ethyl]pyridine (BPIEP) as a tridentate N-donor ligand. The effect of various other N-donor ligands including a bisoxazoline ligand, namely, 2,6-bis(4,4-dimethyl-2-oxazolin-2-yl) pyridine (dmPYBOX) was studied in ATRP and reverse ATRP of MMA. The ATRP of MMA in toluene at 90 °C using MBB as initiator was relatively slow in the case of bidentate and faster in the case of tridentate N-donor ligands. The apparent rate constant, k_app, with MBB as initiator and BPIEP as ligand in toluene (50%, v/v) at 90 °C was found to be 7.15 × 10⁻⁵ s⁻¹. In addition, reverse ATRP of MMA in diphenylether at 70 °C using BPIEP/CuBr₂ as catalyst system was very effective in reducing the reaction time from several hours to 24 h for polymerization of MMA.     

The Preparation of PVAc with Lower PDI Through RATRP in Miniemulsion Polymerization

In this paper, reverse atom transfer radical polymerization (RATRP) was used to prepare polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) with lower polydispersity index (PDI). The different reaction parameters such as ligand, catalyst, and surfactant were studied separately to control the polymerization of VAc. The results show that RATRP is not controlled with bpy as ligand, but it is possible to obtain PVAc with low PDI when PMDETA was used as ligand. The molecular weight and the PDI is 10.71×10⁴ and 1.62 when the molar ratio of AIBN/CuCl₂/PMDETA is 1.5:1:2, the molar ratio of AIBN to VAc is 0.5%, surfactant to deionized water is 10 wt%. The molecular weight and the PDI is 12.81×10⁴ and 1.48 when the molar ratio of AIBN/CuCl₂/PMDETA is 2:1:2. The structure of the polymer and the polymer conversion were investigated through ¹H-NMR and gravity method separately. The molecular weight (Mn) and the polydispersity of the obtained polymers were characterized through gel permeation chromatography (GPC).     

Effects of dual initiators and catalytic additives on atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene

The effect of two initiators, so-called dual initiators system on atom radical transfer polymerization (ATRP), were studied with dimethyl-2,6-dibromohepanedioate (DMDBHD) and ethyl-2-bromoisobutyrate (EBIB). Cu(I)Br as catalyst and N,N,N??,N??,N??-pentamethyl-diethylenetriamine as ligand were employed for styrene ATRP. Interestingly, bimodal MWD were shown for the dual initiator system, and one of the peaks had higher molecular weight (MW) and the other had lower MW compared to a one-initiator system. The lower MW peak in bimodal peaks seemed to be mainly resulting from EBIB and the higher MW peak from DMDBHD. Furthermore, methylaluminoxane (MAO) was fed into the ATRP reaction to observe the effect of it on ATRP. As the MAO/CuBr molar ratio in feed increased from 0 to 1, the molecular weight and conversion increased without a notable change in PDI and curve shape of GPC. The conversion in the presence of MAO was also increased with the increase in MAO/CuBr molar ratio. The effect of Cp^*TiCl₃ on the ATRP was opposite to that of MAO. As the Cp^*TiCl₃/CuBr molar ratio increased from 0 to 1, the conversion of polymerization was down from 56 to 35%. Furthermore, the molecular weight was drastically decreased from 10,000 to 5,500, but their PDI did not show a significant change. These results can elucidated by the retarding effect of Cp^*TiCl₃ on the propagation of polymerization.     

Reversible Addition Fragmentation Chain Transfer Polymerization of Isobutyl Methacrylate

Abstract

The reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) bulk polymerization of isobutyl methacrylate (i‐BMA) has been studied using 2‐cyanoprop‐2‐yl dithionaphthalate (CPDN) as RAFT agent in the presence of 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN). The results of polymerizations of i‐BMA show that i‐BMA can polymerize in a controlled way by RAFT polymerization using CPDN as RAFT agent; i.e., the polymerization rate is first order with respect to monomer concentration, molecular weight increases linearly with monomer conversion, and polydispersities are relatively low (PDI?<?1.2). The structure of the polymer was characterized by ¹H‐NMR. A chain‐extension experiment of the resulting polymer was successfully carried out. The influences of [i‐BMA]₀/[CPDN]₀/[AIBN]₀ molar ratio and reaction temperature were investigated.