Synthesis of polynorbornene‐poly(tert‐butyl acrylate) nanoparticles with original morphologies by tandem ROMP and ATRP in microemulsion

Composite latex particles based on homopolymers and graft‐copolymers composed of polynorbornene (PNB) and poly(tert‐butyl acrylate) (PtBA) were synthesized in microemulsion conditions by simultaneous combination of two distinct methods of polymerization: Ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Only one commercial compound (first generation Grubbs catalyst) was used to initiate the ROMP of norbornene (NB) and activate the ATRP of tert‐butyl acrylate (tBA). Well‐defined nanoparticles with hydrodynamic diameters smaller than 50 nm were prepared with original morphologies depending on the monomer compositions, the type of combination (polymer blend or graft‐copolymer), and the conditions of microemulsion polymerizations. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Novel synthesis of rod‐coil block copolymers by combination of coordination polymerization and ATRP

Combination of coordination polymerization and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was applied to a novel synthesis of rod‐coil block copolymers. The procedure included the following steps: (1) monoesterification reaction of ethylene glycol with 2‐bromoisobutyryl bromide yielded a α‐bromo, ω‐hydroxy bifunctional initiator, (2) CpTiCl₃ (bifunctional initiator) catalyst was prepared from a mixture of trichlorocyclopentadienyl titanium (CpTiCl₃) and bifunctional initiator. Coordination polymerization of n‐butyl isocyanate initiated by such catalyst provided a well‐defined macroinitiator, poly(n‐butyl isocyanate)‐Br (PBIC‐Br), and (3) ATRP method of vinyl monomers using PBIC‐Br provided rod (PBIC)‐coil block copolymers. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 4037–4042, 2007     

ROMP‐NMP‐ATRP combination for the preparation of 3‐miktoarm star terpolymer via click chemistry

A combination of ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and click chemistry approach is first time utilized in the preparation of 3‐miktoarm star terpolymer. The bromide end‐functionality of monotelechelic poly(N‐butyl oxanorbornene imide) (PNBONI‐Br) is first transformed to azide and then reacted with polystyrene‐b‐poly(methyl methacrylate) copolymer with alkyne at the junction point (PS‐b‐PMMA‐alkyne) via click chemistry strategy, producing PS‐PMMA‐PNBONI 3‐miktoarm star terpolymer. PNBONI‐Br was prepared by ROMP of N‐butyl oxanorbornene imide (NBONI) 1 in the presence of (Z)‐but‐2‐ene‐1,4‐diyl bis(2‐bromopropanoate) 2 as terminating agent. PS‐b‐PMMA‐alkyne copolymer was prepared successively via nitroxide‐mediated radical polymerization (NMP) of St and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of MMA. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 497–504, 2009     

Easy and effective method to produce functionalized particles for cellular uptake

In this contribution, a versatile approach for the synthesis of functionalized particles for drug delivery is presented, using two nonaggressive standardized procedures. The first procedure considered is the functionalization of an azido‐terminated α‐norbornenyl poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) macromonomer with an alkyne‐containing active molecule via the copper catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition, click type reaction. The functionalized macromonomer is then polymerized by Ring‐Opening Metathesis Polymerization (ROMP) in dispersion to form functionalized particles. The second procedure consists in synthesizing particles by ROMP in dispersed media of norbornene with azido‐terminated α‐norbornenyl PEO macromonomer. The ROMP was initiated by the first generation Grubbs catalyst. Such functionalized core‐shell particles have stealthy properties due to their PEO shell and can be viewed as universal nanocarriers on which any alkyne‐modified active molecule can be grafted by click chemistry. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013     

Ambient‐temperature copper‐catalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization of methacrylates in ethylene glycol solvents

The use of ethylene glycol solvents in the room‐temperature atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of various hydrophobic and hydrophilic methacrylates is demonstrated. Unlike many of the very polar solvents described in the literature for room‐temperature ATRP, these solvents have good solvency for a wide range of polymers and monomers and are cheap and relatively nontoxic. Ethylene glycols with one hydroxyl and one methoxy group, such as tri(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether (TEGMME), provide optimal results. The polymerization of methyl methacrylate in TEGMME with CuBr/N,N,N′N′,N″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine as the catalyst requires the addition of CuCl₂ at the beginning of the reaction to produce well‐controlled polymerizations. This leads to polymers with predictable molecular weights and relatively narrow polydispersities. Polymerization in solvents that are fully methoxy‐capped terminate prematurely because of catalyst precipitation. The electrochemical behavior of copper complexes in selected solvents is examined to determine why these solvents provide good rates at room temperature. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1588–1598, 2005     

Y‐shaped diblock copolymer with epoxy‐based block of poly(glycidyl methacrylate): Synthesis,characterization, and its morphology study

A Y‐shaped diblock copolymer with a functional block poly(glycidyl methacrylate) was synthesized via the combination of enzymatic ring‐opening polymerization (eROP) and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The synthetic procedure involved eROP of ε‐caprolactone (ε‐CL) in the presence of biocatalyst Novozyme 435 and initiator 1H,1H,2H,2H‐perfluoro‐1‐octaoxy, subsequently the resulting poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) was converted to a macroinitiator by esterification of it with 2,2‐dichloro acetyl chloride, and finally the ATRP of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was conducted at 60 °C with CuCl/2,2′‐bipyridine as the catalyst system. By this process, we obtained copolymers with a controlled molecular weight and a low polydispersity. The structure and composition of the obtained polymers were characterized by H NMR, GPC, and IR. Linear first‐order kinetics, linearly increased molecular weight with conversion, and low polydispersities were observed for the ATRP of GMA. The thermal properties of the copolymer were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry. The self‐assembly behavior of the Y‐shaped block copolymer was also investigated in different solvents and at different concentrations. The aggregates of various morphologies (spheres, worm‐like patterns, nanowell patterns, and dendritic patterns) were observed. It was found that solvents remarkably influenced the morphologies of the films spin‐coated from the corresponding solutions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 5509–5526, 2009     

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     

Peptide block copolymers by N‐carboxyanhydride ring‐opening polymerization and atom transfer radical polymerization: The effect of amide macroinitiators

The synthesis of polypeptide‐containing block copolymers combining N‐carboxyanhydride (NCA) ring‐opening polymerization and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was investigated. An amide initiator comprising an amine function for the NCA polymerization and an activated bromide for ATRP was used. Well‐defined polypeptide macroinitiators were obtained from γ‐benzyl‐L ‐glutamate NCA, O‐benzyl‐serine NCA, and N‐benzyloxy‐L ‐lysine. Subsequent ATRP macroinitiation from the polypeptides resulted in higher than expected molecular weights. Analysis of the reaction products and model reactions confirmed that this is due to the high frequency of termination reactions by disproportionation in the initial phase of the ATRP, which is inherent in the amide initiator structure. In some cases selective precipitation could be applied to remove unreacted macroinitiator to yield well‐defined block copolymers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2009     

Are o‐nitrobenzyl (meth)acrylate monomers polymerizable by controlled‐radical polymerization?

We report on the controlled‐radical polymerization of the photocleavable o‐nitrobenzyl methacrylate (NBMA) and o‐nitrobenzyl acrylate (NBA) monomers. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT), and nitroxide‐mediated polymerization (NMP) have been evaluated. For all methods used, the acrylate‐type monomer does not polymerize, or polymerizes very slowly in a noncontrolled manner. The methacrylate‐type monomer can be polymerized by RAFT with some degree of control (PDI ∼ 1.5) but leading to molar masses up to 11,000 g/mol only. ATRP proved to be the best method since a controlled‐polymerization was achieved when conversions are limited to 30%. In this case, polymers with molar masses up to 17,000 g/mol and polydispersity index as low as 1.13 have been obtained. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 6504–6513, 2009     

Preparation of carboxyl‐end‐group polyacrylamide with low polydispersity by ATRP initiated with chloroacetic acid

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of acrylamide was successfully carried out with chloroacetic acid as initiator and CuCl/N,N,N′,N′‐tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) as catalyst either in water at 80 °C or in glycerol–water (1:1 v/v) medium at 130 °C. In both cases, carboxyl‐end‐group polyacrylamide was obtained with lower polydispersity ranging from 1.03 to 1.44 depending on the polymerization condition. Polymerization kinetics showed that the polymerizations proceeded with a living/controlled nature and accelerated at a higher temperature. The effect of pH in the reaction system on the polymerizations was further studied, revealing that chloroacetic acid not only served as a functional initiator for the ATRP of acrylamde but also provided the acidic polymerization condition, which effectively protected the ATRP of acrylamide from the unexpected complexation and cyclization side‐reactions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3956–3965, 2007     

Synthesis of AB‐type block copolymers containing benzoxazole and anthracene groups by ATRP and fluorescent property

Two functional monomers, methacrylic acid 4‐(2‐benzoxazol)‐benzyl ester (MABE) containing the benzoxazole group and 4‐(2‐(9‐anthryl))‐vinyl‐styrene (AVS) containing the anthracene group were synthesized by rational design. The MABE was polymerized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using ethyl 2‐bromoisobutyrate (EBIB) as initiator in CuBr/N,N,N′,N″,N″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) catalyst system; block copolymers poly(MABE‐b‐AVS) was obtained, which was conducted by using poly(MABE) as macro‐initiator, AVS as the second monomer, and CuBr/PMDETA as catalyst. The constitute of two monomers in block copolymers poly(MABE‐b‐AVS) by ATRP could be adjusted, that is the constitute of the benzoxazole group and the anthracene group could be controlled in AB‐type block copolymers. Moreover, the fluorescent properties of homopolymers poly(MABE) and block copolymers poly(MABE‐b‐AVS) were discussed herein. With the excitation at λ_ex = 330 nm, the fluorescent emission spectrum of poly(MABE) solution showed emission at 375 nm corresponding to the benzoxazole‐based part; with the same excitation, the fluorescent emission spectrum of poly(MABE‐b‐AVS) solution showed a broad peek at 330–600 nm when the monomer AVS to the total monomers mole ratio was 0.31, and the fluorescent emission spectrum of poly(MABE‐b‐AVS) in film state only showed one peak at 525 nm corresponding to the anthracene‐based unit that indicated a complete energy transfer from the benzoxazole group to the anthracene group. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 3894–3901, 2007     

Synthesis of polymeric core–shell particles using surface‐initiated living free‐radical polymerization

An easy and novel approach to the synthesis of functionalized nanostructured polymeric particles is reported. The surfactant‐free emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of the crosslinking reagent 2‐ethyl‐2‐(hydroxy methyl)‐1,3‐propanediol trimethacrylate was used to in situ crosslink colloid micelles to produce stable, crosslinked polymeric particles (diameter size ～ 100–300 nm). A functionalized methacrylate monomer, 2‐methacryloxyethyl‐2′‐bromoisobutyrate, containing a dormant atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) living free‐radical initiator, which is termed an inimer (initiator/monomer), was added to the solution during the polymerization to functionalize the surface of the particles with ATRP initiator groups. The surface‐initiated ATRP of different monomers was then carried out to produce core–shell‐type polymeric nanostructures. This versatile technique can be easily employed for the design of a wide variety of polymeric shells surrounding a crosslinked core while keeping good control over the sizes of the nanostructures. The particles were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, optical microscopy, dynamic light scattering, and Raman spectroscopy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 1575–1584, 2007     

Influence of residual impurities on ring‐opening metathesis polymerization after copper(I)‐catalyzed alkyne‐azide cycloaddition click reaction

Bottlebrush polymers (BBPs) are three‐dimensional polymers with great academic and industrial potential owing to their highly tunable and intricate architecture. The most popular method to synthesize BBPs is ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) with Grubbs' catalyst, allowing living grafting‐through polymerization of macromonomers of up to ultrahigh molecular weights with narrow molecular weight distribution. In this case, it has been well recognized that the purity of macromonomers (MMs) is critical for a successful ROMP reaction. For MMs synthesized from reversible‐deactivation radical polymerization, Grubbs and Xia demonstrated that the better control of ROMP reaction can be achieved when they are prepared via “growth‐then‐coupling” method that is coupling a norbornenyl group to end‐functionalized prepolymers. However, these MMs can also contain various residual impurities from previous synthetic steps, which can potentially poison the catalyst and hamper the ROMP reaction. Herein, we intentionally doped possible impurities into purified MMs to identify the most poisoning species. As a result, it was found that alkyne‐functionalized norbornene most significantly retarded the ROMP reaction due to a formation of Ru‐vinyl‐carbene intermediates having low catalytic reactivity, whereas the other reagents such as solvent, Cu‐catalyst, ligands, and azido‐terminated prepolymers were relatively inert. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 726–737     

Synthesis of chalcone‐based fluorescent polymers: Diels‐Alder reaction of chalcones and their polymerization through ROMP

Ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) was carried out on Diels‐Alder adducts formed from reactions between chalcones and cyclopentadiene. Most of the chalcones gave predominantly endo‐adducts and the exo‐adducts were obtained in good yields from reacting cyclopentadiene with furfurylidine acetone and N,N,diethylaminobenzylidine‐(4‐hydroxy)acetophenone. These exo‐adducts were subjected to ROMP using Grubbs catalyst, bis(tricyclohexylphosphine)benzylidinedichloride. The monomers and polymers were characterized using spectroscopic techniques like FT‐IR, ¹HNMR. The polymers were characterized using TGA, DSC, and GPC. The polymers were found to possess fluorescent properties and poly[2‐(4‐diethylamino)phenyl‐3,5‐divinylcyclopentyl](4‐hydroxyphenyl) methanone was found to have good emissive property at two wavelengths. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1521–1531, 2008     

One‐pot synthesis of block copolymers by ring‐opening polymerization and ultraviolet light‐induced ATRP at ambient temperature

We successfully synthesized poly(l ‐lactide)‐b‐poly (methyl methacrylate) diblock copolymers at ambient temperature by combining ultraviolet light‐induced copper‐catalyzed ATRP and organo‐catalyzed ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) in one‐pot. The polymerization processes were carried out by three routes: one‐pot simultaneous ATRP and ROP, one‐pot sequential ATRP followed by ROP, and one‐pot sequential ROP followed by ATRP. The structure of the block copolymers is confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance and gel permeation chromatography, which suggests that the polymerization method is facile and attractive for preparing block copolymers. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56, 699–704     

Iron(III)‐mediated AGET ATRP of styrene using tris(3,6‐dioxaheptyl)amine as a ligand

A commercially available tris(3,6‐dioxaheptyl)amine (TDA‐1) was used as a novel ligand for activator generated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (AGET ATRP) of styrene in bulk or solution mediated by iron(III) catalyst in the presence of a limited amount of air. FeCl₃ · 6H₂O and (1‐bromoethyl)benzene (PEBr) were used as the catalyst and initiator, respectively; and environmentally benign ascorbic acid (VC) was used as the reducing agent. The polymerizations show the features of “living”/controlled free‐radical polymerizations and well‐defined polystyrenes with molecular weight M_n = 2400–36,500 g/mol and narrow polydispersity (M_w/M_n = 1.11–1.29) were obtained. The “living” feature of the obtained polymer was further confirmed by a chain‐extension experiment. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2002–2008, 2009     

Block and random copolymers as surfactants for dispersion polymerization. I. Synthesis via atom transfer radical polymerization and ring‐opening polymerization

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) were combined to synthesize poly(?‐caprolactone‐co‐octadecyl methacrylate‐co‐dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) copolymers possessing a triblock or random block structure. Various synthetic pathways (sequential or simultaneous approaches) were investigated for the synthesis of both copolymers. For the preparation of these copolymers, an initiator with dual functionality for ATRP/anionic ring‐opening polymerization, 2‐hydroxyethyl 2‐bromoisobutyrate, was used. Copolymers were prepared with good structural control and low polydispersities (weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight < 1.2), but one limitation was identified: the dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) block had to be synthesized after the ?‐caprolactone block. ROP could not proceed in the presence of DMAEMA because the complexation of the amine groups in poly(dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) deactivated tin(II) hexanoate, which was used as a catalyst for ROP. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1498–1510, 2005     

Grafting of montmorillonite nano‐clay with butyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate by atom transfer radical polymerization: Blends with poly(BuA‐co‐MMA)

11‐(2‐Bromo‐2‐methyl)propionyl‐oxy‐undecyl trichlorosilane atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiator was covalently attached on montmorillonite clay platelets via silylation reactions. The initiator clay was used to polymerize butyl acrylate (BuA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) on the clay surface. Polymerization was performed in bulk monomer solution or in DMSO. Polymer modified clay was mixed with a poly(BuA‐co‐MMA) matrix. Small angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that clay modified in DMSO gave exfoliated composites when mixed with the matrix copolymer. Mechanical properties of the composites were studied by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). The results showed that the mechanical properties were improved as a function of clay content, as well with an increasing homogeneity of the nanocomposite. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 3086–3097, 2009     

Norbornene derivatives from a metal‐free,strain‐promoted cycloaddition reaction: New building blocks for ring‐opening metathesis polymerization reactions

The preparation of new ring opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) monomers using a 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition between aryl azides and norbornadiene is described. Various norbornenetriazolines, obtained through a solvent‐and catalyst‐free reaction, can subsequently be incorporated into polymer backbones through ROMP reactions. Furthermore, thermal decomposition of the triazoline moiety can allow for further polymer functionalization. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2357–2362     

Incorporation of poly(2‐acrylamido‐2‐methyl‐N‐propanesulfonic acid) segments into block and brush copolymers by ATRP

2‐Acrylamido‐2‐methyl‐N‐propanesulfonic acid (AMPSA) was successfully polymerized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using a copper chloride/2,2′‐bipyridine (bpy) catalyst complex after in situ neutralization of the acidic proton in AMPSA with tri(n‐butyl)amine (TBA). A 5 mol % excess of TBA was required to completely neutralize the acid and prevent protonation of the bpy ligand, as well as to avoid side reactions caused by large excess of TBA. The use of activators generated by electron transfer (AGET) ATRP with ascorbic acid as reducing agent resulted in both increased conversion of the AMPSA monomer during polymerization (up to 50% with a 0.8 [ascorbic acid]/[Cu(II)] ratio) and much shorter polymerization times (<30 min). Block copolymers and molecular brushes containing AMPSA side chains were prepared using this method, and the solution and surface behavior of these materials were investigated. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 5386–5396, 2009