Heterogeneity Features of Bulk Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate in an Ampoule Reactor

Summary: This work demonstrated the severity of heterogeneity issues with ampoule reactors in bulk atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate. The kinetic data of Cu^II concentration, monomer conversion, and polymer molecular weight varied from location to location along the ampoule. However, the polymer molecular weight versus conversion data from different locations fell into a single theoretical line. All locations except for the bottom part of the ampoule produced polymers having narrow molecular weight distribution.

Conversion versus time at different locations for the ATRP of MMA at 70 °C.     

Controlled Radical Polymerization of 2,3‐Epithiopropyl Methacrylate

We report first results on the controlled radical polymerization of 2,3‐epithiopropyl methacrylate (ETMA) also known as thiiran‐2‐ylmethyl methacrylate. Reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) of ETMA was carried out in bulk and in solution, using AIBN as initiator and the chain transfer agents: cyanopropyl dithiobenzoate (CPDB) and cumyl dithiobenzoate (CDB). A linear increase of the number‐average molecular weight and decrease of the polydispersity with monomer conversion were observed using CPDB as transfer agent, indicating a controlled process. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of ETMA was performed under different reaction conditions using copper bromide complexed by tertiary amine ligands and ethyl 2‐bromoisobutyrate (EBiB) or 2‐bromopropionitrile (BPN) as initiator. All experiments lead to a crosslinked polymer. Preliminary studies in the absence of initiator showed that the CuBr/ligand complex alone initiates the ring‐opening polymerization of thiirane leading to a poly(propylene sulfide) with pendant methacrylate groups.

     

Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate High Efficiently Initiated by Azo-containing Iniferter

Two novel azo-containing iniferters, (4,4′-(diazene-1,2-diyl) bis(4,1-phenylene) bis(2-(diethylca-rbamothioylthio)-2-methylpropanoate (BDCMP) and 4-((4-bromophenyl)diazenyl)phenyl-2-(diethylcarbamothioylthio)-2-methylpropanoate (PDCMP) were synthesized and used successfully as the initiators for atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA). The kinetic plots were first order and the molecular weights of the polymers with narrow molecular weight distributions increased with the monomer conversions. Furthermore, the results showed that the apparent initiation efficiencies (f was close to 0.90 defined as M _n(th)/M _n(GPC)) of BDCMP and PDCMP were both higher than that (f was lower than 0.5) of 2-N,N-(diethylamino)dithiocarboyl-isobutyrate (EDCIB), which was reported previously by us (14 Zhang, W., Zhu, X. L., Cheng, Z. P. and Zhu, J. 2007. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 106: 230–7. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). The obtained mono- and bi-functional PMMAs containing azo and N,N-diethyldithiocarbamate (DC) groups were confirmed by ¹H-NMR and ultraviolet absorption spectra, respectively. The block copolymer, poly (methyl methacrylate)-b-polystyrene (PMMA-b-PS), was also successfully prepared via the ATRP chain-extension experiment using the obtained PMMA as a macroinitiator.     

A Comparative Study of Methyl Methacrylate/Butyl Acrylate Copolymerization Kinetics by Atom‐Transfer and Conventional Radical Polymerization

Methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate monomers are copolymerized by atom‐transfer radical polymerization, affording polymers with well‐controlled molecular weight and low polydispersity. A kinetic analysis of this system is compared with the corresponding free‐radical polymerization system. The copolymerization rate follows an opposite trend to that observed in conventional copolymerization. This fact is attributed to a smaller population of radicals generated in the reaction, since the relative fraction of propagating radicals is the same as that in classical copolymerization.     

Studying the Fundamentals of Radical Polymerization Using ESR in Combination with Controlled Radical Polymerization Methods

Electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy can contribute to understanding both the kinetics and mechanism of radical polymerizations. A series of oligo/poly(meth)acrylates were prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and purified to provide well defined radical precursors. Model radicals, with given chain lengths, were generated by reaction of the terminal halogens with an organotin compound and the radicals were observed by ESR spectroscopy. This combination of ESR with ATRPs ability to prepare well defined radical precursors provided significant new information on the properties of radicals in radical polymerizations. ESR spectra of the model radicals generated from tert-butyl methacrylate precursors, with various chain lengths, showed clear chain length dependent changes and a possibility of differentiating between the chain lengths of observed propagating radicals by ESR. The ESR spectrum of each dimeric, trimeric, tetrameric, and pentameric tert-butyl acrylate model radicals, observed at various temperatures, provided clear experimental evidence of a 1,5-hydrogen shift.     

室温下甲基丙烯酸甲酯原子转移自由基乳液聚合反应研究

以卤化亚铜（CuX）/1,10-邻二氮菲（phen）配合物为催化剂、2-溴代异丁酸 乙酯（EBiB）为引发剂、十二烷基磺酸钠（SLS）为乳化剂,进行了甲基丙烯酸甲 酯（MMA）的原子转移自由基乳液聚合（ATRP）反应。结果表明,与较高温度（70 - 90 ℃）下的聚合反应相比,室温（25 ℃）时聚合反应有更好的可控性,通过 外加钝化剂的复合催化引发体系CuBr/CuBr_2/phen/EBiB或利用CuCl/phen/EBiB催 化引发体系的“卤素交换反应”,可进一步改善聚合反应的可控性。紫外发光谱测 定结果表明,CuBr/phen配合物在MMA相中的分配倾向随着温度的降低而增大,使得 室温下MMA的乳液ATRP保持了较好的可控性和较快的反应速度。     

Monomode Microwave‐Assisted Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

Summary: The first monomode microwave‐assisted atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is reported. The ATRP of methyl methacrylate was successfully performed with microwave heating, which was well controlled and provided almost the same results as experiments with conventional heating, demonstrating the absence of any “microwave effect” in ATRP (in contrast to several literature reports). Furthermore, we found that the main advantage of the microwave‐assisted reactions over conventional reactions, i.e., a significant increase of reaction rates, only had its limited application in ATRP, even in very slow ATRP systems with high targeted molecular weights.

Comparison of the kinetic plots of the ATRP of MMA ([MMA]₀/[EBIB]₀/[CuCl]₀/[NHPMI]₀ = 200:1:1:3, MMA/DMF = 1:1 v/v) carried out at 90 °C in DMF with microwave (▴) and conventional heating (•), respectively.     

Photoinduced Controlled Radical Polymerization

Well‐controlled radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate can be achieved by in situ photochemical generation of copper (I) complex from air‐stable copper (II) species without using any reducing agent at room temperature. The living character of this polymerization was confirmed by both the linear tendency of molecular weight evolution with conversion and a chain extension experiment.

     

新型引发体系引发MMA"活性"自由基聚合

传统的原子转移自由基聚合(ATRP)引发体系是由卤化物(引发剂)、低价过渡金属和合适的配体组成的络合物(催化剂)[1,2],即RX/Mnt/LX,三部分组成的.但由于卤化物的毒性和低价过渡金属易被空气中的氧气氧化,因此Matyjaszewski等[3,4]和Teyssié等[5]提出了新的引发体系反向ATRP.反向ATRP用传统引发剂(如AIBN)代替卤化物,用高价过渡金属络合物代替原来的催化体系,即AIBN/Mn+1t/LX,就避免了上述两个缺点.反向ATRP的引发反应机理表述如下:　　目前已见诸报道的关于反向ATRP的文献甚少[3～5],所使用的引发剂均为AIBN.Wang和Matyja…     

酚氧基联烯基醚单体的原子转移自由基聚合研究

以具有较高活性的酚氧基联烯基醚(POA)和对叔丁基酚氧基联烯基醚(t-BuPOA)为研究对象, 研究了不同引发 剂/配体体系对其原子转移自由基(ATRP)聚合行为的影响. 发现在2-溴代丙酸甲酯/溴化亚铜/4,4’-二庚基联吡啶(2-MBP/CuBr/dHbpy)和对甲苯磺酰氯/溴化亚铜/三-(N,N-二甲基氨基乙基)胺(p-TsCl/CuBr/Me6TREN)两种ATRP反应体系中, POA的聚合都遵循ATRP反应的机理.     

原子转移自由基悬浮聚合制备PVC-g-PMMA共聚物

原子转移自由基悬浮聚合制备PVC-g-PMMA共聚物;聚氯乙稀;甲基丙烯酸甲酯;原子转移自由基悬浮聚合     

Metal‐Free Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate with ppm Level of Organic Photocatalyst

It is well known that the recently developed photoinduced metal‐free atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) has been considered as a promising methodology to completely eliminate transition metal residue in polymers. However, a serious problem needs to be improved, namely, large amount of organic photocatalysts should be used to keep the controllability over molecular weights and molecular weight distributions. In this work, a novel photocatalyst 1,2,3,5‐tetrakis(carbazol‐9‐yl)‐4,6‐dicyanobenzene (4CzIPN) with strong excited state reduction potential is successfully used to mediate a metal‐free ATRP of methyl methacrylate just with parts per million (ppm) level usage under irradiation of blue light emitting diode at room temperature, using ethyl α‐bromophenyl‐acetate as a typical initiator with high initiator efficiency. The polymerization kinetic study, multiple controlled “on–off” light switching cycle regulation, and chain extension experiment confirm the “living”/controlled features of this promising photoinduced metal‐free ATRP system with good molecular weight control in the presence of ppm level photocatalyst 4CzIPN.

     

Uniform PEO Star Polymers Synthesized in Water via Free Radical Polymerization or Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

Amphiphilic star shaped polymers with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) arms and cross‐linked hydrophobic core were synthesized in water via either conventional free radical polymerization (FRP) or atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) techniques using a simple “arm‐first” method. In FRP, PEO based macromonomers (MM) were used as arm precursors, which were then cross‐linked by divinylbenzene (DVB) using 2,2′‐azoisobutyronitrile (AIBN). Uniform star polymers ( < 1.2) were achieved through adjustment of the ratio of PEO MM, DVB, and AIBN. While in case of ATRP, both PEO MM, and PEO based macroinitiator (MI) were used as arm precursors with ethylene glycol diacrylate as cross‐linker. Even more uniform star polymers with less contamination by low MW polymers were obtained, as compared to the products synthesized by FRP.

     

Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of N,N‐Dimethylacrylamide

Summary: The living polymerization of N,N‐dimethylacrylamide was achieved by atom transfer radical polymerization catalyzed by copper chloride complexed with a new ligand, N,N′‐bis(pyridin‐2‐ylmethyl 3‐hexoxo‐3‐oxopropyl)ethane‐1,2‐diamine (BPED). With methyl 2‐chloropropionate as the initiator, the polymerization reached high conversions (> 90%) at 80 °C and 100 °C, producing polymers with very close to theoretical values and low polydispersity. The ligand, temperature, and copper halide strongly affected the activity and control of the polymerization.

PDMA molecular weight and polydispersity dependence on the DMA conversion in the DMA bulk polymerizations at different temperatures: DMA/CuCl/MCP/BPED = 100/1/1/1, 100 °C (♦, ⋄); 80 °C (▴, ▵); 60 °C (▪, □); and DMA/CuCl/MCP/BPED = 100/1/1/2, 80 °C (•, ○).     

原子转移自由基聚合的最新研究进展*

原子转移自由基聚合(ATRP)是目前为止最具工业化应用前景的“活性”/可控自由基聚合之一。近年来对其广泛的研究使这一技术逐渐向着“提高可操作性”与“尽可能地减少金属催化剂用量”方面发展;与此同时,诞生了不同催化体系的ATRP衍生技术,如反向原子转移自由基聚合(RATRP)、正向反向同时引发的原子转移自由基聚合(SR&NI ATRP)、引发剂连续再生催化剂原子转移自由基聚合(ICAR ATRP)、电子转移生成催化剂的原子转移自由基聚合(AGET ATRP)和电子转移再生催化剂原子转移自由基聚合(ARGET ATRP)等多种基于ATRP的新方法。本文概述了这几种ATRP体系的发展历程与基本原理,并对其国内外的最新研究进展进行了综述。     

Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Styrene and Methyl Methacrylate from Mesoporous Ordered Silica Particles

Summary: Mesoporous silica was used as substrate for the grafting of alkyl halides initiators. The control over the surface‐initiated polymerization of styrene and MMA, in terms of molar mass and molar mass distribution, was successfully achieved using an ATRP mechanism. The occurrence of the polymerization inside the mesopores was confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis.

Transmission electron microscopy and schematic representation of mesoporous silica functionalized by the anchored iniator (left) and the grafted polymer (right).     

Reverse Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of (-)-Menthyl Methacrylate

The reverse atom transfer radical polymerization(RATRP)of (-)-menthyl methacrylate ((-)-MnMA) with AIBN(AIBM/CuCl2/bipyridine(bipy) or (-)sparteine((-)Sp)=1/2/4 initiating system in THF has been studied.The dependence of the specific rotation on molecular weight was investigated.     

Facile Soap‐Free Miniemulsion Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate via Reverse Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

A facile soap‐free miniemulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was successfully carried out via a reverse ATRP technique, using a water‐soluble potassium persulfate (KPS) or 2,2′‐azobis(2‐methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (V‐50) both as the initiator and the stabilizer, and using an oil‐soluble N,N‐n‐butyldithiocarbamate copper (Cu(S₂CN(C₄H₉)₂)₂) as the catalyst without adding any additional ligand. Polymerization results demonstrated the “living”/controlled characteristics of ATRP and the resultant latexes showed good colloidal stability with average particle size around 300–700 nm in diameter. The monomer droplet nucleation mechanism was proposed. NMR spectroscopy and chain‐extension experiments under UV light irradiation confirmed the attachment and livingness of UV light sensitive  S C(S) N(C₄H₉)₂ group in the chain end.