Premium
NIR Light‐Induced ATRP for Synthesis of Block Copolymers Comprising UV‐Absorbing Moieties
Author(s) -
Kütahya Ceren,
Meckbach Nicolai,
Strehmel Veronika,
Gutmann Jochen S.,
Strehmel Bernd
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.202001099
Subject(s) - copolymer , monomer , polymer chemistry , photopolymer , dispersity , polymerization , chemistry , atom transfer radical polymerization , polymer , photochemistry , materials science , organic chemistry
NIR exposure at 790 nm activated photopolymerization of monomers comprising UV‐absorbing moieties by using [Cu II /(TPMA)]Br 2 (TPMA=tris(2‐pyridylmethyl)amine) in the ppm range and an alkyl bromide as initiator. Some of them comprised structural elements selected either from those showing proton transfer or photocycloaddition upon UV excitation. Polymers obtained comprise living end groups serving as macroinitiator for controlled synthesis of block copolymers with relatively narrow molecular weight distributions. Chromatographic results indicated formation of block copolymers produced by this synthetic approach. Free‐radical polymerization of monomers pursued for comparison exhibited the expected broader dispersity of molecular weight compared to photo‐ATRP. Polymerization of these monomers by UV photo‐ATRP failed on the contrary to NIR photo‐ATRP demonstrating the UV‐filter function of the monomers. This work conclusively provides a new approach for the polymerization of monomers comprising UV‐absorbing moieties through photo‐ATRP in the NIR region. This occurred in a simple and efficient pathway. However, studies also showed that not all monomers chosen successfully proceeded in the NIR photo‐ATRP protocol.