Influence of a reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer agent in the dispersion polymerization of styrene

Dispersion polymerization was applied to the controlled/living free‐radical polymerization of styrene with a reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization agent in the presence of poly(N‐vinylpyrrolidone) and 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile in an ethanol medium. The effects of the polymerization temperature and the postaddition of RAFT on the polymerization kinetics, molecular weight, polydispersity index (PDI), particle size, and particle size distribution were investigated. The polymerization was strongly dependent on both the temperature and postaddition of RAFT, and typical living behavior was observed when a low PDI was obtained with a linearly increased molecular weight. The rate of polymerization, molecular weight, and PDI, as well as the final particle size, decreased with an increased amount of the RAFT agent in comparison with those of traditional dispersion polymerization. Thus, the results suggest that the RAFT agent plays an important role in the dispersion polymerization of styrene, not only reducing the PDI from 3.34 to 1.28 but also producing monodisperse polystyrene microspheres. This appears to be the first instance in which a living character has been demonstrated in a RAFT‐mediated dispersion polymerization of styrene while the colloidal stability is maintained in comparison with conventional dispersion polymerization. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 348–360, 2007     

The influence of surfactant coverage of the minidroplets on RAFT miniemulsion polymerization

The surfactant coverage of minidroplets was tuned by postaddition of more surfactants after preparation of the miniemulsion of styrene. The influence of surfactant coverage on reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) miniemulsion polymerization of styrene was investigated. When the surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate; SDS) coverage was as low as 40%, two kinds of particles, denoted as polymer and oligomer particles, were formed in the early stage of the polymerization. Polymer chains within two kinds of particles grew in a parallel way during the rest period of the polymerization. The oligomer particles contributed less than 10% to the final monomer conversion but consumed over one in third the original RAFT agent molecules. Oligomer particles were larger in size but much lower in molecular weight. Both the particle size and molecular weight distributions were bimodal. With increase of SDS coverage, the formation of oligomer particles was suppressed. As a result, the nucleation efficiency of the minidroplets was greatly enhanced and the molecular weight and particle size distributions were dramatically narrowed. The formation of the oligomer particles was ascribed to the superswelling occurring in the beginning stage of the polymerization. The experimental observations are in excellent accord to the superswelling theory. Postaddition of surfactant presents a novel method to narrow particle size and molecular weight distributions in RAFT miniemulsion polymerization. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2293–2306, 2006     

β-CD存在下MMA细乳液体系的RAFT聚合

近年来，活性自由基聚合已成为高分子合成领域中的一个热门课题．Rizzardo研究小组提出了一种新型活性自由基聚合反应，即RAFT(Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer)聚合．RAFT反应在传统的自由基聚合中加入了具有高链转移常数和特定结构的链转移剂——双硫酯类化合物．当链转移剂的浓度足够大时，链转移反应由不可逆变为可逆，聚合反应也随之发生质的变化，由不可控     

Polymerization of styrene in alcohol/water mediated by a macro‐RAFT agent of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) trithiocarbonate: From homogeneous to heterogeneous RAFT polymerization

The reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of styrene in alcohol/water mixture mediated with the poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) trithiocarbonate macro‐RAFT agent (PNIPAM‐TTC) is studied and compared with the general RAFT dispersion polymerization in the presence of a small molecular RAFT agent. Both the homogeneous/quasi‐homogeneous polymerization before particle nucleation and the heterogeneous polymerization after particle nucleation are involved in the PNIPAM‐TTC‐mediated RAFT polymerization, and the two‐stage increase in the molecular weight (M_n) and nanoparticle size of the synthesized block copolymer is found. In the initial homogeneous/quasi‐homogeneous polymerization, the M_n and nanoparticle size slowly increase with monomer conversion, whereas the M_n and particle size quickly increase in the subsequent heterogeneous RAFT polymerization, which is much different from those in the general RAFT dispersion polymerization. Besides, the PNIPAM‐TTC‐mediated RAFT polymerization runs much faster than the general RAFT dispersion polymerization. This study is anticipated to be helpful to understand the polymer chain extension through RAFT polymerization under dispersion conditions. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer/miniemulsion polymerization of butyl methacrylate in the presence of β‐cyclodextrin

In the presence of β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD), reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization has been successfully applied to control the molecular weight and polydispersity [weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight (M_w/M_n)] in the miniemulsion polymerization of butyl methacrylate, with 2‐cyanoprop‐2‐yl dithiobenzoate as a chain‐transfer agent (or RAFT agent) and 2,2′‐azoisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator. β‐CD acted as both a stabilizer and a solubilizer, assisting the transportation of the water‐insoluble, low‐molecular‐weight RAFT agent into the polymerization loca (i.e., droplets or latex particles) and thereby ensuring that the RAFT agent was homogeneous in the polymerization loca. The polymers produced in the system of β‐CD exhibited narrower polydispersity (1.2 < M_w/M_n < 1.3) than those without β‐CD. Moreover, the number‐average molecular weight in the former case could be controlled by a definite amount of the RAFT agent. Significantly, β‐CD was proved to have a favorable effect on the stability of polymer latex, and no coagulum was observed. The effects of the concentrations of the RAFT agent and AIBN on the conversion, the molecular weight and its distribution, and the particle size of latices were investigated in detail. Furthermore, the influences of the variations of the surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate) and costabilizer (hexadecane) on the RAFT/miniemulsion polymerization were also studied. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 2931–2940, 2005     

Molecular Watchmaking: ab initio Emulsion Polymerization by RAFT-controlled Self-assembly

Controlled radical polymerization using RAFT has the potential to make polymers with virtually any desired molecular architecture. For this to be implemented on an industrial scale, it must be performed by polymerization in disperse media. However, simply adding a RAFT agent to a conventional emulsion polymerization recipe leads to a loss of molecular weight control and formation of coagulum, probably because of nucleation in droplets, which is normally an unlikely phenomenon in emulsion polymerizations. Recently, a method has been devised for implementing RAFT in ab initio emulsion polymerization that avoids droplets in the particle formation stage. The molecular weight distribution of the polymer thus formed shows that molecular weight control is maintained throughout the polymerization. A model is developed to predict the particle size formed in this new type of emulsion polymerization. The new methodology enables synthesis of novel dispersions where molecular architecture can be precisely controlled, such as structured core-shell particles.     

Kinetic modeling of controlled living microemulsion polymerizations that use reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer

Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization is a useful technique for the formation of polymers with controlled architectures and molecular weights. However, when used in the polymerization of microemulsions, RAFT agents are only able to control the polymer molecular weight only at high RAFT concentrations. Here, a kinetic model describing RAFT microemulsion polymerizations is derived that predicts the reaction rates, molecular weight polydispersities, and particle size. The model predicts that at low RAFT concentrations, the RAFT agent will be consumed early in the reaction and that this will result in uncontrolled polymerization in particles nucleated late in the reaction. The higher molecular weight polydispersity that is observed in RAFT microemulsion polymerizations is the result of this uncontrolled polymerization. The model also predicts a shift in the conversion at which the maximum reaction rate occurs and a decrease in the particle size with increasing RAFT concentration. Both of these trends are also consistent with those observed experimentally. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 6055–6070, 2006     

Reaction parameters in the RAFT mediated dispersion polymerization of styrene

Monodisperse polystyrene (PS) particles were prepared by a living radical dispersion polymerization with a reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) agent in an ethanol medium. In the presence of RAFT agent, the effects of various reaction parameters on the characteristics of PS particles were systematically investigated. When no RAFT agent was involved, the number‐average molecular weight (M_n) of the PS particles increased from 17,800 to 30,000 g/mol, but the weight‐average diameter (D_w) decreased from 2.54 to 2.06 μm with the increase of poly(N‐vinylpyrrolidone) content from 4.0 to 16.0 wt %. No correlation between the M_n and the coefficient of variation (CV) was observed. However, when the RAFT concentration varied from 0 to 2.0 wt %, all of the conversion, M_n, D_w, CV, and polydispersity index (M_w/M_n) decreased. This indicates that the RAFT agent alters the inverse behavior between the molecular weight (MW) and particle size shown in the conventional dispersion polymerization. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 872–885, 2008     

Brush macro‐RAFT agent mediated dispersion polymerization of styrene in the alcohol/water mixture

Dispersion RAFT polymerization of styrene in the alcohol/water mixture mediated with the brush macro‐RAFT agent of poly[poly(ethylene oxide) methyl ether vinylphenyl‐co‐styrene] trithiocarbonate [P(mPEGV‐co‐St)‐TTC] with similar molecular weight but different chemical composition is investigated. Well‐controlled RAFT polymerization including an initial slow homogeneous polymerization and a subsequent fast heterogeneous polymerization at almost complete monomer conversion is achieved. The molecular weight of the synthesized block copolymer increases linearly with the monomer conversion, and the polydispersity is relatively narrow (PDI < 1.3). The RAFT polymerization kinetics is dependent on the chemical composition in the brush macro‐RAFT agents, and those with high content of hydrophobic segment lead to fast RAFT polymerization. The growth of the block copolymer nano‐objects during the RAFT polymerization is explored, and various block copolymer nano‐objects such as nanospheres, worms, vesicles and large‐compound‐micelle‐like particles are prepared. The parameters such as the chemical composition in the brush macro‐RAFT agent, the chain length of the solvatophobic block, the concentration of the feeding monomer and the solvent character affecting the size and morphology of the block copolymer nano‐objects are investigated. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 3177–3190     

Synthesis of highly crosslinked monodisperse polymer particles: Effect of reaction parameters on the size and size distribution

Monodisperse polystyrene particles crosslinked with different concentrations of divinylbenzene were synthesized in the 3.2–9.1 μm size range by dispersion polymerization in an isopropyl alcohol/toluene mixed‐dispersion medium with poly(N‐vinylpyrrolidone) as a steric stabilizer and 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile as a radical initiator. The effects of the reaction parameters such as the crosslinking agent concentration, media solvency (controlled by varying the amount of toluene addition), the initiator concentration, and the stabilizer concentration on the particle size and size distribution were investigated with reference particles with a monodisperse size distribution and crosslinked by 1.5 wt % divinylbenzene. The appropriate increase in media solvency was a prerequisite for preparing crosslinked particles without coagulated and/or odd‐shaped particles. The investigation of the effects of the polymerization parameters also shows that only specific sets of conditions produce particles with a monodisperse size distribution. The glass‐transition temperatures of the particles increased with increasing divinylbenzene concentration. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 4368–4377, 2002     

Efficient Synthesis of Poly(acrylic acid) in Aqueous Solution via a RAFT Process

The direct polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) in aqueous solution for high molecular weight by means of living radical polymerization is still difficult. Here, AA was polymerized homogeneously in water by a reversible addition-fragmentation transfer polymerization (RAFT) in the presence of a water-soluble trithiocarbonate as a RAFT agent. Various ratios [AA]:[RAFT agent] were investigated to aim at different molecular weights. The polymerization exhibited living free-radical polymerization characteristics at different ratios [AA]: [RAFT agent]: controlled molecular weight, low polydispersity and well-suited linear growth of the number-average molecular weight, M _n with conversion. The chain transfer to solvent or polymer was suppressed during the polymerization process, thus high linear PAA with high molecular weight and low PDI can be obtained. Moreover, using the generated PAA as a macro RAFT agent, the chain extension polymerization of PAA with fresh AA displayed controlled behavior, demonstrated the ability of PAA to reinitiate sequential polymerization.     

超临界CO2中苯乙烯RAFT分散聚合

以末端带有三硫代碳酸酯的聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS-TTC)为大分子链转移剂,在超临界CO2中通过苯乙烯的可逆加成-断裂链转移(RAFT)聚合制备了聚二甲基硅氧烷-b-聚苯乙烯(PDMS-b-PS)嵌段共聚物,对聚合反应动力学以及产物的组成、分子量和形貌等进行了表征.由于PDMS链段可溶于超临界CO2而PS链段不溶,因此在超临界CO2中制备PDMS-b-PS嵌段共聚物的过程是以嵌段共聚物自身作为分散稳定剂的RAFT分散聚合,产物为粒径较均一的球形颗粒.     

Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate in Microemulsion: The Influence of Reaction Conditions on Polymerization

The reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as surfactant and a difunctional RAFT agent S,S′-bis (α, α′-dimethylacetic acid) trithiocarbonate (BDAT) as chain transfer were conducted in microemulsion. The influence of polymerization temperature and concentration of RAFT agent on the polymerization were investigated, respectively. The results showed that the molecular weight of products increased linearly with conversion, the polydispersity indexes remained low value, and the polymerization processes were totally under control with increasing concentration of RAFT agent, the polymerization behavior exhibited living polymerization characters. In addition, the influence of RAFT concentration on the particle size was investigated by TEM. The results indicated that the particles were highly monodispersed and the particle size increased with increasing concentration of RAFT agent.     

TEMPO‐mediated dispersion polymerization of styrene in the presence of camphorsulfonic acid

The TEMPO‐mediated polymerization of styrene in the presence of camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) is carried out using controlled radical dispersion polymerization. In the absence of TEMPO and CSA, 92% of conversion was achieved within 3 h of polymerization. When TEMPO is solely used, broadening of particle size with narrow PDI was observed because of the prolonged polymerization time. However, when 1:1 molar ratio of CSA/TEMPO was added, the fairly monodisperse PS microspheres having 5.83 μm average size and 3.42% C_V (coefficient of variation) were successfully achieved because of the narrow molecular weight of intermediate oligomers and shortening of the polymerization time. This result obviously indicates that the addition of CSA in TEMPO‐mediated dispersion polymerization not only shortens the polymerization time but also greatly improves the uniformity of the microspheres. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 62–68, 2006     

Ion‐exchanger synthesis using reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization

An ion‐exchanger with polyanionic molecular brushes was synthesized by a “grafting from” route based on “surface‐controlled reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization” (RAFT). The RAFT agent, PhC(S)SMgBr was covalently attached to monodisperse‐porous poly(dihydroxypropyl methacrylate‐co‐ethylene dimethacrylate), poly(DHPM‐co‐EDM) particles 5.8 μm in size. The monomer, 3‐sulfopropyl methacrylate (SPM), was grafted from the surface of poly(DHPM‐co‐EDM) particles with an immobilized chain transfer agent by the proposed RAFT protocol. The degree of polymerization of SPM (i. e. the molecular length of the polyanionic ligand) on the particles was controlled by varying the molar ratio of monomer/RAFT agent. The particles carrying polyanionic molecular brushes with different lengths were tested as packing material in the separation of proteins by ion exchange chromatography. The columns packed with the particles carrying relatively longer polyanionic ligands exhibited higher separation efficiency in the separation of four proteins. Plate heights between 130–200 μm were obtained. The ion‐exchanger having poly‐(SPM) ligand with lower degree of polymerization provided better peak‐resolutions on applying a salt gradient with higher slope. The molecular length and the ion‐exchanger group content of polyionic ligand were adjusted by controlling the degree of polymerization and the grafting density, respectively. This property allowed control of the separation performance of the ion‐exchanger packing.     

Anionic dispersion polymerization of styrene. I. Investigation of parameters for preparation of uniform micron-size polystyrene particles with narrow molecular weight distribution

Anionic dispersion polymerization in a hexane medium has been applied to the synthesis of monodisperse polystyrene particles in the size range of 1.41–6.16 μm, and having narrow molecular weight distributions M_w/M_n of 1.02–1.28. sec-Butyllithium was used as the initiator. Polystyrene-block-polybutadiene diblock copolymer containing 23% polystyrene block, (i.e., Stereon 730A) with a molecular weight of 147,000 g/mol and a polydispersity of 1.05, was found to be a suitable steric stabilizer for the preparation of micron-size polystyrene particles with narrow size distribution. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) was used as a promoter for obtaining narrow molecular weight distributions. However, this study revealed that the addition of small amounts of THF as promoter broadened the particle size distribution. High solids content polystyrene dispersions were also prepared without using any promoter by both batch and/or multi-addition monomer processes. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Latices of poly(fluoroalkyl mathacrylate)‐b‐poly(butyl methacrylate) copolymers prepared via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization

Poly(fluoroalkyl mathacrylate)‐block‐poly(butyl methacrylate) diblock copolymer latices were synthesized by a two‐step process. In the first step, a homopolymer end‐capped with a dithiobenzoyl group [poly(fluoroalkyl mathacrylate) (PFAMA) or poly(butyl methacrylate) (PBMA)] was prepared in bulk via reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization with 2‐cyanoprop‐2‐yl dithiobenzoate as a RAFT agent. In the second step, the homopolymer chain‐transfer agent (macro‐CTA) was dissolved in the second monomer, mixed with a water phase containing a surfactant, and then ultrasonicated to form a miniemulsion. Subsequently, the RAFT‐mediated miniemulsion polymerization of the second monomer (butyl methacrylate or fluoroalkyl mathacrylate) was carried out in the presence of the first block macro‐CTA. The influence of the polymerization sequence of the two kinds of monomers on the colloidal stability and molecular weight distribution was investigated. Gel permeation chromatography analyses and particle size results indicated that using the PFAMA macro‐CTA as the first block was better than using the PBMA RAFT agent with respect to the colloidal stability and the narrow molecular weight distribution of the F‐copolymer latices. The F‐copolymers were characterized with ¹H NMR, ¹⁹F NMR, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Comparing the contact angle of a water droplet on a thin film formed by the fluorinated copolymer with that of PBMA, we found that for the diblock copolymers containing a fluorinated block, the surface energy decreased greatly, and the hydrophobicity increased. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 471–484, 2007     

Thermoresponsive poly(ionic liquid): Controllable RAFT synthesis,thermoresponse, and application in dispersion RAFT polymerization

The thermoresponsive poly(ionic liquid) of poly[1‐(4‐vinylbenzyl)‐3‐methylimidozolium tetrafluoroborate] trithiocarbonate (P[VBMI][BF₄]‐TTC) showing the soluble‐to‐insoluble phase transition in the methanol/water mixture at the upper critical solution temperature (UCST) was synthesized by solution RAFT polymerization and the synthesized P[VBMI][BF₄]‐TTC was employed as macro‐RAFT agent to mediate the RAFT polymerization under dispersion condition to afford the thermoresponsive diblock copolymer nanoparticles of poly[1‐(4‐vinylbenzyl)‐3‐methylimidozolium tetrafluoroborate]‐b‐polystyrene (P[VBMI][BF₄]‐b‐PS). The controllable solution RAFT polymerization was achieved as indicated by the linearly increasing polymer molecular weight with the monomer conversion and the narrow molecular weight distribution. The P[VBMI][BF₄]‐TTC macro‐RAFT agent mediated dispersion polymerization afforded the P[VBMI][BF₄]‐b‐PS nanoparticles, the size of which was uncorrelated with the polymerization degree of the P[VBMI][BF₄] block. Several parameters including the polymerization degree, the polymer concentration and the water content in the solvent of the methanol/water mixture were found to be correlated with the UCST of the poly(ionic liquid). The synthesized poly(ionic liquid) is believed to be a new thermos‐responsive polymer and will be useful in material science. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 945–954     

Preparation of monodisperse PMMA microspheres in nonpolar solvents by dispersion polymerization with a macromonomeric stabilizer

We discuss a dispersion polymerization procedure for preparing monodisperse and micron-sized poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) particles in hexanes with methacryloxypropyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane stabilizers. We investigate the effects of the stabilizer molecular weight, stabilizer concentration, and monomer concentration on the particle size and polydispersity. We find that a minimum molecular weight of 10 000 g/mol is necessary to synthesize colloidally stable PMMA dispersions. The particle polydispersity is minimal (=5%) for stabilizer to monomer weight ratios of 0.02 to 0.1, while PMMA particles prepared under conditions outside this range are polydisperse. The particle diameter can be varied from 0.4 to 1.5 µm by appropriate choices of stabilizer and monomer concentrations. Stable PMMA suspensions can be prepared at up to 26.3% solids. The dispersions are stable in most liquid aliphatics, and are monodisperse enough to form ordered domains at high concentration. This single-stage synthesis, requiring only commercially available materials, may be of interest to those seeking a simple way to prepare highly monodisperse non-aqueous dispersions in the micron size range.     

Dispersion copolymerization of poly(oxyethylene) macromonomers and styrene

The kinetics of dispersion copolymerization of methacryloyl-terminated poly(oxyethylene) (PEO-MA) and p-vinylbenzyl-terminated (PEO-St) polyoxyethylene macromonomers and styrene (St), initiated by a water- and/or oil-soluble initiator, was investigated using conventional gravimetric and NMR methods at 60°C. The batch copolymerizations in the water/ethanol continuous phase were conducted to high conversion. The rate of polymerization was described by the curve with a maximum at very low conversion. The initial rate of polymerization and the number-average molecular weight were found to decrease with increasing [PEO-MA], and the decrease was more pronounced in the range of a high macromonomer concentration. The rate per particle (at ca. 20% conversion) was found to be proportional to the −1.55th, the particle size to the −0.92nd, and the number of particles (at final conversion) to the 3.2nd power of [PEO-MA], respectively. At the beginning of polymerization the continuous phase is the main reaction locus. As the polymerization advances, the reaction locus is shifted from the continuous phase to the polymer particles. The transform of the reaction loci from the continuous phase to the polymer particles increases the rate of polymerization and the polymer molecular weights. The increase of the weight ratio PEO-MA/St favors the formation of monodisperse polymer particles, the colloidal stability of dispersion, and the formation of a larger number of polymer particles. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 35: 3131–3139, 1997