Synthesis of light harvesting polymers by RAFT methods

Polymers prepared by RAFT polymerisation containing acenaphthyl energy donors and a terminal anthryl energy acceptor have a narrow molecular weight distribution and exhibit excitation energy transfer efficiencies up to 70%.     

Waterborne RAFT polymers

A recently invented novel family of RAFT (Reversible Addition-Fragmentation chain Transfer) agents having a common formula Z-C(S)-S-CR₂COOR¹ where Z = -SR, -NR₂, or -OR, and R¹ represents H or a variety of functional groups allows for tailoring their hydrophilicity-hydrophobicity balance. A limited hydrophilicity of the RAFT agents can be achieved which is sufficient for their diffusion through water, yet the agents are hydrophobic enough to phase-separate out of water. Thus, the limited hydrophilicity of otherwise hydrophobic agents allows them to be at the loci of polymerization making them suitable for the emulsion polymerization mechanism. With several RAFT agents, good control over molecular weight was demonstrated for a broad variety of ab initio acrylic emulsion polymers. For methyl methacrylate, a portion of RAFT did not engage, resulting in less than the theoretical number of polymer chains. It was found, however, that as little as ∼10 wt% of an acrylic monomer slowed down polymerization enough to engage all RAFT agent molecules and yield predicted molecular weights. A broad variety of colorless and odorless telechelic acrylic and methacrylic emulsion polymers were synthesized.Microemulsion and solution-dispersion techniques produced clean colloidally stable RAFT dispersions. These two techniques did not require RAFT agents with tailored hydrophilicity-hydrophobicity.The UV spectra and photooxidative stability of the RAFT polymers were studied. The RAFT fragment in polymers appeared to have no impact on their photooxidative stability.     

Preparation and characterization of dendrimer-star PNIPAAM using dithiobenzoate-terminated PPI dendrimer via RAFT polymerization

Two dendritic reversible addition-fragmentation transfer (RAFT) agents with 8 and 16 terminal dithiobenzoate (DTB) groups on the surface of poly(propylene imine) (PPI) dendrimers (generation 2.0 and 3.0, respectively) were successively prepared, and they were used in the RAFT polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAM). The polymerization kinetics was confirmed to pseudo-first-order behavior. The ¹H NMR and GPC analyses show that the dendrimer-star den (NIPAAM)_x (x = 8 or 16) prepared by RAFT method has well-defined structure, controlled molecular weight and low polydispersities (PDI < 1.3). The aqueous solution prepared from dendrimer-star PNIPAAM showed reversible changes in optical properties: transparent below a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) and opaque above the LCST.     

Synthesis of tertiary amine‐based pH‐responsive polymers by RAFT Polymerization

Well‐defined tertiary amine‐based pH‐responsive homopolymers and block copolymers were synthesized via reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization using 4‐cyanopentanoic acid dithiobenzoate (CPAD) as the RAFT agent for homopolymers and a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) macro‐RAFT agent for the block copolymers. ¹H NMR and gel permeation chromatography results confirmed the successful synthesis of these homopolymers and block copolymers. Kinetics studies indicated that the formation of both the homopolymers and the block copolymers were well defined. The pKa titration experiments suggested that the homopolymers and the related block copolymers have a similar pKa. The dynamic light scattering investigation showed that all of the block copolymers underwent a sharp transition from unimers to micelles around their pKa and the hydrodynamic diameter (D_h) was not only dependent on the molecular weight but also on the composition of the block copolymers. The polymer solution of PEG‐b‐PPPDEMA formed the largest micelle compare to the PEG‐b‐PDPAEMA and PEG‐b‐PDBAEMA with a similar molecular weight. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1010–1022     

Versatile grafting approaches to star-shaped POSS-containing hybrid polymers using RAFT polymerization and click chemistry

An alkyne-bearing polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) core was used to prepare POSS-containing polymer hybrids using 'grafting to' or 'grafting from' strategies in combination with reversible chain transfer and click chemistry.     

Synthesis and characterisation of low density porous polymers by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT)

PolyHIPE foams with densities of 0.05–0.1 g cm^?3 have been prepared by the polymerisation of the continuous phase of high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). The internal aqueous phase in HIPE occupies more than 74 % of the total volume, which leads to highly porous and open-cell morphologies. In this paper a method of preparing polyHIPE foams by using reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerisation has been investigated. Polystyrene-co-polymethyl methacrylate (PS-co-PMMA) has been studied and by using a variety of characterisation methods, it was possible to compare the polyHIPEs prepared by the conventional free radical polymerisation (FRP) to those by RAFT polymerisation. Scanning electron microscopy images have confirmed the presence of a cellular polyHIPE structure. PS-co-PMMA polyHIPEs made by RAFT have significantly narrower molecular weight distribution with values for the polydispersity index (PDI) for PS-co-PMMA between 1.46 and 2.08 compared to 4.68 observed by FRP. The effects of different concentrations of the RAFT agent on structure, glass transition temperature (T _g) and PDI of PS-co-PMMA polyHIPE foams are presented.     

Functional and tuneable amino acid polymers prepared by RAFT polymerization

We report the application of reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization using a novel chain transfer agent toward the synthesis of a variety of copolymers containing proline‐derived monomeric units. This methodology enables ready access to a number of polymeric species with narrow molecular weight distributions, reliable functional unit incorporations, and high conversions. The methodology is also a facile approach to novel copolymeric species incorporating amino acids, which possess unique material properties and the potential for further organocatalytic application. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2009     

Controlled bimodal molecular-weight-distribution polymers: facile synthesis by RAFT polymerization

The RAFT agents RAFT-1 and RAFT-2 were used for RAFT polymerization to synthesize well-defined bimodal molecular-weight-distribution (MWD) polymers. The system showed excellent controllability and "living" characteristics toward both the higher- and lower-molecular-weight fractions. It is important that bimodal higher-molecular-weight (HMW) polymers and block copolymers with both well-controlled molecular weight (MW) and MWD could be prepared easily due to the "living" features of RAFT polymerization. The strategy realized a mixture of higher/lower-molecular-weight polymers at the molecular level but also preserved the features of living radical polymerization (LRP) of the RAFT polymerization.     

Synthesis of well‐designed polymers carrying saccharide moieties via RAFT miniemulsion polymerization

Two hydrophobic vinyl saccharide monomers based on D ‐glucose and D ‐fructose were polymerized by employing the reversible addition‐fragmentation transfer (RAFT) miniemulsion polymerization technique to prepare well‐designed glycopolymers. Three dithiobenzoate‐RAFT agents [S?C(Ph)S? R], 1‐phenylethyl dithiobenzoate (PED), 2‐phenylprop‐2‐yl dithiobenzoate (PPD), and 2‐cyanoprop‐2‐yl dithiobenzoate (CPD), were used to control the growth of polymer chains. The best results were obtained in the presence of the PPD‐RAFT agent and the formed polymers have polydispersity index's (PDI) lower than 1.15. Under adequate miniemulsion polymerization conditions, a glycopolymer with PDI of 1.1 and molecular weight of 5 × 10⁴ g/mol has been successfully synthesized in a short reaction time of 100 min. Furthermore, some block copolymers containing saccharide segment with butyl or methyl methacrylate were prepared. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

相转移催化法合成RAFT试剂

以苯为有机相,季铵盐为相转移催化剂,二硫代苯甲酸溴化镁分别与溴化苄、2-溴丁酸-2’-羟基乙酯及α-溴乙基苯反应,合成了三种不同结构的RAFT试剂——二硫代苯甲酸酯(3a～3c),收率82.7%～85.5%,其结构经1H NMR和IR确证。     

RAFT聚合法合成聚丙烯酰胺基偶氮苯的研究

以二硫代苯甲酸苄酯(BDTB)为链转移剂,偶氮二异丁腈(AIBN)为引发剂,丙烯酰胺基偶氮苯(AAAB)为单体,DMF为溶剂,利用可逆加成-断裂链转移(RAFT)聚合法合成了聚丙烯酰胺基偶氮苯(PAAAB),并考察了聚合温度和链转移剂浓度对聚合反应的影响。通过FT-IR、1 H-NMR、GPC等对链转移剂和聚合物结构进行了表征。结果表明:聚合反应动力学曲线呈良好的线性关系,分子量分布窄;随着[BDTB]/[AIBN]比例的增大,聚合速率和分子量下降,分子量分布变窄。     

多重响应性杂臂星型聚合物的RAFT聚合合成及性能研究

耦合先臂法("arm first")和可逆加成-断裂链转移(RAFT)自由基聚合制备以温度响应性聚(聚乙二醇甲醚丙烯酸酯-co-2-(2-乙氧基乙氧基)乙基丙烯酸酯)(POD)和p H响应性聚丙烯酸二甲氨基乙酯(PDMAEA)为臂,含二硫键的N,N'-双丙烯酰胱胺(BAC)为核的杂臂星型聚合物(MAS).采用傅里叶红外光谱(FTIR)、核磁共振氢谱(1H-NMR)和凝胶渗透色谱(GPC)对聚合物的结构、相对分子质量及分子量分布进行了表征.结果表明,该法能有效控制星型聚合物的合成(分子量分布指数PDI1.3).采用紫外可见吸收光谱法(UV-Vis)、动态光散射(DLS)考察了MAS在水中的相变行为.结果表明,随着臂PDMAEA含量的增加,星型聚合物的LCST增大.当臂POD与PDMAEA的摩尔投料比为5∶5时,聚合物浓度为1 mg/m L时其在纯水中的LCST为38.2℃.     

Facile postpolymerization end‐modification of RAFT polymers

One‐pot methods for the end‐group postpolymerization modification of reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) derived polymers were investigated. Dithioester‐terminated polymers were transformed into ω‐functionalized polymers through conjugate addition of a variety of acrylates with an intermediate thiol. These methods provide a versatile means of introducing a variety of functionalities onto the polymer terminus, while simultaneously removing the residual dithiobenzoate group. A series of functionalized polymethylmethacrylate‐b‐polystyrene (PMMA‐b‐PS) polymers were synthesized utilizing the developed methods to probe the effect of charged end groups on diblock copolymer phase separation in thin films. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 346–356, 2009     

用ATRP法和RAFT法制备线形嵌段共聚物

嵌段共聚物是将不同性质的聚合物连接在同一分子内，表现出特殊的性质，受到高分子科学家及工业部门的广泛关注。本文简要介绍了嵌段共聚物的结构、性能以及可能的应用。它有多种制备方法，这里着重介绍近年来通过原子转移自由基聚合(ATRP)和可逆加成-裂解链转移(RAFT)法制备嵌段共聚物的研究现状和进展情况。对于加料顺序、大分子引发剂末端基团、单体的反应活性以及大分子引发剂的引发效率、配体种类、大分子链转移剂的链转移常数等对嵌段共聚反应的影响也进行了讨论。     

Synthesis of degradable poly(methyl methacrylate) star polymers via RAFT copolymerization with cyclic ketene acetals

Copolymerization of the cyclic ketene acetal 5,6‐benzo‐2‐methylene‐1,3‐dioxepane (BMDO) with methyl methacrylate (MMA) is studied with respect to its copolymerization parameters and the suitability to control BMDO/MMA copolymerizations via the reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) technique to obtain linear and 4‐arm star polymers. BMDO shows disparate copolymerization behavior with MMA and r₁ = 0.33 ± 0.06 and r₂ = 6.0 ± 0.8 have been determined for polymerization at 110 °C in anisole from fitting copolymer composition vs. comonomer feed data to the Lewis–Mayo equation. Copolymerization of the two monomers is successful in RAFT polymerization employing a trithiocarbonate control agent. As desired, polymers contain only little amount of polyester units stemming from BMDO units and preliminary degradation experiment show that the polymer degrades slowly, but steadily in aqueous 1 M NaOH dispersion. Within ten days, the polymers are broken down to low molecular weight segments from an initial molecular weight of M_n = 6000 g mol^?1. Star (co)polymerization with an erythritol‐based tetra‐functional RAFT agent following the Z‐group approach proceeds efficiently and polymers with a number‐average molecular weight of 10,000 g mol^?1 are readily obtained that degrade in similar manner as the linear copolymer counterparts. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 1633–1641     

Synthesis and characterizations of 1,2,3-triazole containing polymers via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization

A novel monomer containing triazole and naphthalene ring, 2-(1-naphthalen-1-ylmethyl-1H-[1,2,3]triazol-4-yl)-ethyl methacrylate (NTEMA), was designed and synthesized via “click” chemistry method. The RAFT polymerization of NTEMA was successfully carried out using 2-cyanoprop-2-yl dithiobenzoate (CPDB) as a RAFT agent, 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as an initiator in tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution. The results showed that the polymerizations exhibited “living”/controlled characteristics. The obtained poly(2-(1-naphthalen-1-ylmethyl-1H-[1,2,3]triazol-4-yl)-ethyl methacrylate) homopolymers, PNTEMAs, were further coordinated with samarium ion to prepare rare earth containing polymers (PNTEMA-Sm(III) complexes) which were characterized by FT-IR, DSC and ICP-AES. The characterization data confirmed that triazole in side chain of the polymer could coordinate with Sm(III). The fluorescence property of the polymers and polymer Sm(III) complexes were investigated in solution and in film.     

Controlled synthesis of luminescent polymers using a bis-dithiobenzoate RAFT agent

A higher efficiency of excitation energy transfer occurs to a luminescent diphenylanthracenyl acceptor incorporated at the centre, rather than the end, of an acenaphthylene polymer chain.     

Synthesis and characterization of silsesquioxane-cored star-shaped hybrid polymer via “grafting from” RAFT polymerization

Organic/inorganic hybrid polymers have been widely studied for their potential use in nanocontainers and nanocarriers.In this article,one star-shaped hybrid polymer,polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) grafted poly (N,N-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate)(POSS-g-PDMA),was synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT).The pH stimuli-responsive character of POSS-g-PDMA in aqueous solution were also studied.     

Synthesis and Characterization of the Polyacrylonitrile-block-poly（methyl acrylate） by RAFT Technique

Reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) was firstly reported in 1998 by Rizzardo1. This technique provided the possibility to synthesize polymers with controlled molecular weight, narrow molecular weight distribution, and we…     

丙烯腈-苯乙烯嵌段共聚物的RAFT聚合与表征

以S,S'-二(α,α '-二甲基-α″-乙酸)三硫代碳酸酯(TRIT)为链转移剂,利用可逆加成断裂链转移自由基聚合(RAFT)制备了窄分布的端羧基大分子链转移剂——聚苯乙烯和聚丙烯腈.以大分子链转移剂为RAFT试剂,引发苯乙烯或丙烯腈单体的RAFT聚合,进一步得到聚丙烯腈-聚苯乙烯-聚丙烯腈(PAN-b-PS-b-PAN)和聚苯乙烯-聚丙烯腈-聚苯乙烯(PS-b-PAN-b-PS)三嵌段共聚物.通过1 H-NMR、FT-IR、凝胶渗透色谱(GPC)对所得产物的结构和分子量进行了袁征,通过原子力显微镜(AFM)和拉曼光谱(Raman)研究了嵌段共聚物薄膜的微相分离结构与热解行为.结果表明:所得产物中除PAN-b-PS-b-PAN外,分子量分布均小于1.2.嵌段共聚物薄膜经250℃热稳定化与600℃热解处理后,碳化并形成了规整的石墨结构,微区尺寸在75 nm左右.