Versatile cobalt(Salen-NEt2) for aqueous cobalt-mediated radical polymerization |
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Authors: | I-Hsiang Chang Hung-Hsun Lu Hsin Ping Chun-Wei Chang Chi-How Peng |
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Institution: | Department of Chemistry and Frontier Research Center on Fundamental and Applied Sciences of Matters, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, 30013 Taiwan |
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Abstract: | Cobalt-mediated radical polymerization (CMRP) has enabled the polymerization of a wide range of monomers with predictable molecular parameters and well-defined compositions and architectures. However, the synthesis of hydrophilic polymers by CMRP directly in the aqueous phase is still challenging. Herein, a handy cobalt complex was developed to perform CMRP of N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP), 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA), and N,N-dimethylacrylamide (DMA) with linearly increased molecular weight, low polydispersity values, and smoothly shifted gel permeation chromatography (GPC) traces. The chain extensions of NVP, HEA, and DMA revealed the well chain-end fidelity for the synthesis of block copolymers. Moreover, the poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone)-block-poly(vinyl acetate) (PVP-b-PVAc) amphiphilic block copolymer colloidal solution was achieved directly in aqueous phase by cobalt-mediated radical polymerization-induced self-assembly (CMR-PISA), forming the nanoparticles consisting of a hydrophilic PVP corona and a hydrophobic PVAc core. This new mediator opens the opportunity for the synthesis of various hydrophilic (co)polymers in an environmentally friendly manner. |
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Keywords: | cobalt-mediated radical polymerization polymerization-induced self-assembly water-soluble mediator |
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