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Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Glycidyl Methacrylate: A Functional Monomer
Author(s) -
Cañamero Pedro Francisco,
de la Fuente José Luis,
Madruga Enrique López,
FernándezGarcía Marta
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.200400186
Subject(s) - glycidyl methacrylate , polymer chemistry , atom transfer radical polymerization , polymerization , copolymer , monomer , chain transfer , radical polymerization , molar mass distribution , living polymerization , dispersity , chemistry , materials science , polymer , organic chemistry
Summary: A detailed investigation of the polymerization of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), an epoxy‐functional monomer, by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was performed. Homopolymers were prepared at relatively low temperatures using ethyl 2‐bromoisobutyrate (EBrIB) as the initiator and copper halide (CuX) with N , N , N ′, N ″, N ″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine (PMDETA) as the catalyst system. The high polymerization rate in the bulk did not permit polymerization control. However, homopolymerization in solution enabled us to explore the effects of different experimental parameters, such as temperature, solvent (toluene vs. diphenyl ether) and initiator concentration, on the controllability of the ATRP process. SEC analysis of the homopolymers synthesized confirmed the importance of solvent character on molecular weight control, the lowest polydispersity indices ( $\overline M _{\rm w} /\overline M _{\rm n} < 1.25$ ) and the highest efficiencies being found when the polymerizations were performed in diphenyl ether in combination with a mixed halide technique. A novel poly(glycidyl methacrylate)‐ block ‐poly(butyl acrylate) (PGMA‐ b ‐PBA) diblock copolymer was prepared through ATRP using PGMA‐Cl as a macro‐initiator. This chain growth experiment demonstrated a good living character under the conditions employed, while simultaneously indicating a facile synthetic route for this type of functional block copolymer. In addition, the isotacticity parameter for the PGMAs obtained was estimated using 1 H NMR analysis which gave a value of σ GMA = 0.26 in agreement with that estimated in conventional radical polymerization.SEC chromatograms of PGMA‐Cl macroinitiator and PGMA‐ b ‐PBA diblock copolymer.