Synthesis of polyacrylonitrile via reverse atom transfer radical polymerization catalyzed by FeCl3/isophthalic acid

FeCl₃ coordinated by isophthalic acid was first used as a catalyst in the azobisisobutyronitrile‐initiated reverse atom transfer radical polymerization of acrylonitrile. N,N‐Dimethylformamide was used as a solvent to improve the solubility of the ligand. An FeCl₃‐to‐isophthalic acid ratio of 0.5 not only gave the best control of the molecular weight and its distribution but also provided rather a rapid reaction rate. The effects of different solvents on the polymerization of acrylonitrile were also investigated. The rate of the polymerization in N,N‐dimethylformamide was faster than that in propylene carbonate and toluene. The molecular weight of polyacrylonitrile agreed reasonably well with the theoretical molecular weight in N,N‐dimethylformamide. The rate of polymerization increased with increasing polymerization temperature, and the apparent activation energy was calculated to be 59.9 kJ mol^?1. Reverse atom transfer radical polymerization was first used to successfully synthesize acrylonitrile polymers with a molecular weight higher than 80,000 and a narrow polydispersity as low as 1.22. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 219–225, 2006