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Copper(0)‐Mediated Living Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate in a Non‐polar Solvent
Author(s) -
Hornby Ben D.,
West Andrew G.,
Tom Jessica C.,
Waterson Carl,
Harrisson Simon,
Perrier Sébastien
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.201000031
Subject(s) - methyl methacrylate , dispersity , polymer chemistry , polymerization , catalysis , toluene , living polymerization , solvent , ligand (biochemistry) , chemistry , radical polymerization , materials science , photochemistry , polymer , organic chemistry , biochemistry , receptor
The metal catalyzed polymerization of methyl methacrylate using Cu(0) as the catalyst source has been investigated in toluene. This work looks at polymerizations in a non‐polar medium allowing control over the molecular weight and polydispersity with a 4‐fold reduction in catalyst concentration versus conventional ATRP, while the use of an active ligand allows the reaction to proceed at room temperature. The use of an excess of PMDETA ligand allows for high conversions, and the addition of a small amount of CuBr 2 enhances living characteristics, enabling efficient chain extension.