Immobilized copper catalyst for atom transfer radical addition and polymerization

A novel multidentate amine grafted on silica gel and magnetic microsphere was prepared. Its chemical structure was confirmed by C¹³ NMR, XPS and FTIR, and the nitrogen content was determined by elemental analysis. It was also used as a ligand for CuCl and successfully catalyzed the atom transfer radical addition of both carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) to methyl methacrylate and methyl trichloroacetate to styrene, repeatedly. The conversion and purity of the product were determined through gas chromatography and ¹H NMR, respectively. The immobilized copper catalyst complex was also used in atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene initiated by 1,1,1,3‐tetrachloro‐3‐phenylpropane and methyl methacrylate initiated by methyl 2‐methyl‐2,4,4,4‐tetrachlorobutyrate, respectively. Although the polymerization took place successfully, it did not proceed in a controlled fashion. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Virus-glycopolymer conjugates by copper(I) catalysis of atom transfer radical polymerization and azide-alkyne cycloaddition

The Cu(I)-catalyzed ATRP and azide-alkyne cycloaddition reactions together provide a versatile method for the synthesis of end-functionalized glycopolymers and their attachment to a suitably modified viral protein scaffold.     

Synthesis and Characterization of 4,4'-Di (p-aminophenylethynyl)-6,6'-bis[ N,N-bis(ethoxycarbonylmethyi) amino methyl ]-2,2'-bipyridine

以4,4'-二硝基-2,2'-联吡啶-6,6'-二亚甲基双三氟乙酸酯作为起始原料,经水解、溴化、酯化和对氨基苯乙炔取代4步反应合成了4,4'-二.(对氨基苯乙炔基)-6,6'-二[N,N-二(乙氧基羰甲基)氨甲基]-2,2'-联吡啶.通过红外光谱、核磁共振波谱、高分辨质谱等表征了该化合物的结构.该化合物经水解后与铕离子形成稀土荧光螯合物,在紫外光激发下,发射出具有铕离子特征的荧光光谱.     

4,4'-二(对氨基苯乙炔基)-6,6'-二[N,N-二(乙氧基羰甲基)氨甲基]-2,2'-联吡啶的合成与表征

以4,4'-二硝基-2,2'-联吡啶-6,6'-二亚甲基双三氟乙酸酯作为起始原料, 经水解、 溴化、 酯化和对氨基苯乙炔取代4步反应合成了4,4'-二(对氨基苯乙炔基)-6,6'-二[N,N-二(乙氧基羰甲基)氨甲基]-2,2'-联吡啶. 通过红外光谱、 核磁共振波谱、 高分辨质谱等表征了该化合物的结构. 该化合物经水解后与铕离子形成稀土荧光螯合物, 在紫外光激发下, 发射出具有铕离子特征的荧光光谱.     

CuBr/PMDETA combined with triethanolamine as an economic and highly active catalyst for atom transfer radical polymerization

CuBr ligated with N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) is a common catalyst for atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). A catalyst/initiator ratio of 0.5–1 is generally required for most CuBr/PMDETA-catalyzed polymerizations, leading to high catalyst loading and high cost of post-polymerization purification. In this work, triethanolamine is found to drastically improve the catalytical performance of CuBr/PMDETA and the strong promotion effects of triethanolamine on ATRP of methyl acrylate (MA), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (St) have been investigated. In the presence of triethanolamine, the catalyst loading of CuBr/PMDETA is substantially reduced from a normal catalyst/initiator ratio of 1 to 0.01, 0.05 and 0.05 respectively in the polymerization of MA, MMA and St. As CuBr/PMDETA is one of the cheapest ATRP catalysts, the combination of CuBr/PMDETA with triethanolamine further markedly decreases the catalyst consumption and reduces the cost of post-purification for ATRP at large scales, and therefore is promising for potential industrial applications.     

Synthesis and characterization of sulfonated block copolymers by atom transfer radical polymerization

Well‐defined sulfonated polystyrene and block copolymers with n‐butyl acrylate (nBA) were synthesized by CuBr catalyzed living radical polymerization. Neopentyl p‐styrene sulfonate (NSS) was polymerized with ethyl‐2‐bromopropionate initiator and CuBr catalyst with N,N,N′,N′‐pentamethylethyleneamine to give poly(NSS) (PNSS) with a narrow molecular weight distribution (MWD < 1.12). PNSS was then acidified by thermolysis resulting in a polystyrene backbone with 100% sulfonic acid groups. Random copolymers of NSS and styrene with various composition ratios were also synthesized by copolymerization of NSS and styrene with different feed ratios (MWD < 1.11). Well defined block copolymers with nBA were synthesized by sequential polymerization of NSS from a poly(n‐butyl acrylate) (PnBA) precursor using CuBr catalyzed living radical polymerization (MWD < 1.29). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 5991–5998, 2008     

Synthesis and preliminary analytical evaluation of the chemiluminescence from (4-[4-(dichloromethylsilanyl)-butyl]-4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridyl)bis(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) covalently bonded to silica particles

This paper describes, for the first time, a simple and effective synthetic route for covalently bonding the chemiluminescence reagent, (4-[4-(dichloromethylsilanyl)-butyl]-4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridyl)bis(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) onto silica particles. The subsequent preparation of chemically regeneratable detection cells and their preliminary analytical evaluation with both sequential injection analysis and flow injection analysis are also reported. Unoptimised analytical figures of merit were established for standard solutions of codeine and sodium oxalate with detection limits calculated from three times the standard deviation of the blank signal, of 1 x 10(-8) M and 3 x 10(-7) M respectively. The chemically immobilised reagent exhibited some intriguing solvent and kinetic effects, which are also briefly discussed.     

Synthesis and characterization of syndiotactic polystyrene-graft-poly(glycidyl methacrylate) copolymer by atom transfer radical polymerization

Syndiotactic polystyrene-graft-poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (sPS-graft-PGMA) copolymer was synthesized by a heterogenous atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using 2-bromo-2-methylpropanoyl bromide modified syndiotactic polystyrene (BMPsPS) as macroinitiator and copper bromide combined with 2,2′-bipyridine as catalyst in anisole at room temperature. The macroinitiator with 7.0 mol% bromine content was prepared from Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction of sPS with 2-bromo-2-methylpropanoyl bromide in a heterogeneous process. It was found that BMsPS macroinitiator was well swelled in the mixture of anisole and GMA, the equilibrium swelling degree could reach 370%. The resultant polymer was characterized by FTIR and NMR spectroscopies. In addition, the thermal properties of the graft copolymers were also investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).     

Synthesis,characterization and thermal properties of 4,4'-bis(4-n-alkoxybenzoyloxy)benzylideneanilines and bis(4-benzylidene-4'-n-alkoxyaniline) terephthalates

Series of novel thermotropic liquid crystalline compounds which serve as models for mesogenic diols have been synthesized. The mesogen molecules are constructed from 1,4-disubstituted benzene rings linked through ester and azomethine units. Based on the number of phenyl rings, a tetrad or pentad classification has been assigned to the core molecule. The structures of these compounds were established by FTIR and NMR spectroscopy, while the mesomorphic behaviour has been confirmed using polarizing optical microscopy and DSC. All the compounds of the homologues series are mesomorphic in nature. The lower members of the series are nematogenic, while the higher members exhibit both nematic and smectic character, with high melting behaviour and wide mesophase ranges.     

Synthesis and structural chemistry of bis(pyridylimino)isoindolato-ruthenium complexes and their activity as mediators in the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene

The reaction of the Bispyridyl Isoindole (BPI) type ligands L1 and L2 (L1 = 1,3-Bis(2-(4-tert-butylpyridyl)imino) isoindole, L2 = 1,3-Bis(2-(5-bromo)imino)-5,6-dimethylisoindole) with [Ru(μ-Cl)₂(cod)]_x in presence of triethylamine using coordinating solvents like acetonitrile, dimethyl sulfoxide or pyridine cleanly gave the complexes [{BPI(L1,L2)}Ru^II(Cl)(S)₂] (L1: S = acetonitrile (1), dimethyl sulfoxide (2), pyridine (3); L2: S = acetonitrile (4), dimethyl sulfoxide (5), pyridine (6)). In these complexes the BPI ligands meridionally coordinated to the ruthenium center as established by X-ray diffraction for complexes 3 and 6. The catalytic activity in the direct ATRP (Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization) of styrene was tested for complexes 1-6.     

Supported nickel bromide catalyst for atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate

A new supported catalytic system, i.e. nickel bromide catalyst ligated by triphenylphosphine (TPP) ligands immobilized onto crosslinked polystyrene resins (PS-TPP) is reported. Per se, this catalyst does not allow any control over the polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) initiated by ethyl 2-bromoisobutyrate but, in the presence of a given amount of purposely added free TPP, it promotes controlled ATRP of MMA. Indeed colorless PMMA chains of low polydispersity indices are readily recovered, the molecular weight of which linearly increases with monomer conversion and agrees with the expected values. Recycling of the supported catalyst is evidenced and does not prevent the polymerization from being controlled.     

Kinetics of heterogeneous atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene by using bis(1,10‐phenanthroline)copper bromide

The kinetics of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene using bis(1,10‐phenanthroline)copper bromide was investigated. The concentration of the copper catalyst does not affect the propagation rate but does affect the termination process of polymerization appreciably. With increasing reaction temperature the molecular weight distribution of the produced PS becomes more narrow. The apparent activation energy was found to be 75 kJ/mol.     

Synthesis and characterization of surface-initiated polymer brush prepared by reverse atom transfer radical polymerization

Surface-initiated reverse atom transfer radical polymerization (reverse ATRP) technique was used to synthesize well-controlled nanostructure of polymer brushes from silicon wafer. Kinetic studies revealed a linear increase in polymer film thickness with reaction time, indicating that chain growth from surface was a controlled process with a “living” characteristic. This technique provides a simple and efficient approach to create various nanostructures of polymer brushes potentially used for designing nanodevices. Analysis of the polymer brush layers was conducted using ellipsometry, XPS, AFM and contact angle measurements, respectively.     

Synthesis of halogen-free amino-functionalized polymethyl methacrylate by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP)

In order to obtain amino-terminated polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA-NH₂) free of halogen we used the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) to polymerize methyl methacrylate (MMA) in presence of an initiator containing an alkyl bromide unit and a protected amine functional group. The use of CuBr / N,N,N′,N′′,N′′-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) as co-catalyst system results in a polymer free of halogen due to hydrogen transfer from PMDETA to the growing polymer chain. However, side reactions occur affecting the typically “living” character of the ATRP. The measured molecular weights are consistently higher than the theoretical ones and the molecular weight distributions are relatively broad.     

Living radical polymerization. II. Improved atom transfer radical polymerization of acrylamide in aqueous glycerol media with a novel pentamethyldiethylenetriamine‐based soluble copper(I) complex catalyst system

An improved atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of acrylamide was achieved in a glycerol/water (1:1 v/v) medium with 2‐halopropionamide initiators, CuX (X = Cl or Br) as catalysts, pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) as a ligand, and CuX₂ (≥20 mol % CuX) and excess alkali halide (ca. 1 mol/dm³) as additives. The first‐order kinetic plots for the disappearance of the monomer at 130 °C were linear; this was a significant improvement over the results obtained earlier with the bipyridine ligand. However, even under such improved situations, about 7 mol % of the polymer chains were estimated to be formed dead. The polydispersity index was approximately 1.5. At a lower temperature (ca. 90 °C), a lower polydispersity index (1.24) was obtained for the bromide‐based initiating system. Chain‐extension experiments proved the living nature of the polymers. The presence of both extra halide ions and the monomer was necessary to take the CuX–PMDETA complex into solution. It was suggested that the soluble Cu(I) complex was formed with one PMDETA molecule acting as a monodentate ligand and with two halide ions and one acrylamide molecule occupying the other three coordination sites. Some support for the involvement of all three ligands (X^?, PMDETA, and acrylamide) in the complex formation was obtained from ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy studies. The better ATRP with the PMDETA ligand was attributed to the better stability and lesser hydrolysis of the 1:1 Cu⁺²/PMDETA complex with respect the corresponding bipyridine complex. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2483–2494, 2004     

Synthesis of selenium nano-composite (t-Se@PS) by surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization

Selenium nanostructures, which are otherwise susceptible to oxidative damage, were encapsulated with a thin layer of polystyrene. The thin layer of polystyrene was grafted onto the surfaces of selenium by a surface initiated atom transfer radical polymerization reaction. These encapsulated nanostructures demonstrate an enhanced resistance towards corrosion.     

Synthesis of poly(isobornyl acrylate) containing copolymers by atom transfer radical polymerization

For the first time, a detailed study of the atom transfer radical polymerization of isobornyl acrylate (iBA) is reported. On the basis of these results, well‐defined PiBA‐containing block copolymers were synthesized, focussing on the preparation of amphiphilic poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) containing block copolymers. The precursor monomers 1‐ethoxyethyl acrylate (EEA) as well as tert‐butyl acrylate have been used to synthesize the PAA‐segments of the PiBA‐b‐PAA block copolymers. Finally, the synthesis of “block‐like” copolymers of PiBA and PEEA via a one‐pot procedure was investigated. By optimizing the copper and ligand concentration, and choosing the appropriate solvent, a controlled polymerization behaviour was obtained in all cases, as evidenced by a detailed kinetic analysis, GPC, NMR, and MALDI‐TOF data. Thermogravimetric analysis confirmed the quantitative transformation of the precursor polymer PEEA to the corresponding PAA‐containing copolymers. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1649–1661, 2008