Rapid ambient temperature living radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate and styrene utilizing sodium hypophosphite as reducing agent

A facile, safe, and inexpensive reducing agent, sodium hypophosphite (NaH₂PO₂·H₂O), has been successfully used to perform ambient temperature living radical polymerizations of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (St). The rapid radical polymerizations were readily obtained at 25°C, i.e., MMA reached a conversion of ca 90% after 2.5 h, and St reached a conversion of ca 80% after 40 h. The polymerizations of MMA and St exhibited excellent living/controlled nature, as evidenced by pseudo first‐order kinetics of polymerization, linear evolution of molecular weights with increasing monomer conversions, and narrow molecular weight distributions. The various experimental parameters—ligand, solvent, and molar ratio of NaH₂PO₂·H₂O to CuSO₄·5H₂O—were varied to improve the control of polymerization, molecular weight, and molecular weight distribution. ¹H NMR analyses and chain‐extension reactions confirm the high chain‐end functionality of the resultant poly(methyl methacrylate) and polystyrene. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42123.     

Free radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate at high temperatures

Free-radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in a tubular reactor has been conducted at above-Tg temperatures. A salient feature of these experiments is the very efficient control of reactor temperature by vapor-liquid equilibrium of the polymerizing mixture via monomer evaporation. The system pressure thus provides a powerful control variable, restricting the temperature in the entire reactor by changing the monomer evaporation rate. In the range of our experimental conditions, the temperature and pressure in the reactor follow the Antoine equation closely. High temperature runs also reduce the length requirement of the reactor. However, molecular weight averages of the products are not impressive, unless slow-burning initiators are used. Modeling of above-Tg reactions has been attempted at two-levels of sophistication. A plug-flow model gives predictions in good agreement with our experimental temperatures and conversion data. The predicted molecular weights are also consistent with the experimentally observed values. However, the more elaborate rheokinctic model suggests that the superficial agreement between model and experiment is due to initiator burn-out, which limits the final conversion to within 40 percent. The liquid layer next to the reactor wall can never be so viscous as to form a stagnant deposit, due to this conversion limitation. The velocity profiles are thus not very much distorted, and a plug-flow model is adequate. With a slow-burning initiator and a sufficiently long reactor, skewing of velocity profile and reactor channeling will eventually emerge. Hence, the rheokinetic model must be evoked to model the system under such conditions.     

Atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl acrylate from a multifunctional initiator at ambient temperature

A multifunctional initiator for ATRP has been synthesized by reacting a hyperbranched polyether, based on 3-ethyl-3-(hydroxymethyl)oxetane, with 2-bromo-isobutyrylbromide. The macroinitiator contained approximately 25 initiating sites per molecule. It was used for the atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl acrylate mediated by Cu(I)Br and tris(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)amine (Me₆-TREN) in ethyl acetate at room temperature. This yielded a co-polymer with a dendritic-linear architecture. The large number of growing chains from each macromolecule increases the probability of inter-and intramolecular reactions. In order to control these kinds of polymerizing systems and prevent them from forming a gel, the concentration of propagating radicals must be kept low. The polymerizations under these conditions were well controlled. When a ratio of initiating sites-to-catalyst of 1:0.05 was used, the polymers from all of the reactions had a low polydispersity, ranging from 1.1 to 1.4. None of the polymerizations under these conditions gave gelation. Monomer conversions as high as 65% were reached while maintaining control over the polymerization.     

Free radical terpolymerization of butyl acrylate/methyl methacrylate and alpha methyl styrene at high temperature

The free radical initiated terpolymerization of butyl acrylate (BA), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and alpha methyl styrene (AMS) has been examined. Kinetic studies focused on elevated reaction temperatures (115 and 140 °C). The studies were made over the full conversion range and examined the effect of reaction temperature, feed composition and initiator level on reaction rates. The composition of terpolymer products and their molecular weights were also analyzed with respect to monomer conversion levels.     

Controlled radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in the presence of 2-bromoethanol

Summary The radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene (St) initiated by 2,2’-azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) at 60 °C in the presence of haloalkyl alcohol are studied. The influence of structure and concentration of haloalkyl alcohol as a transfer agent are investigated. For the radical polymerization of MMA in the presence of large amount of 2-bromoethanol, controlled radical polymerization is proceeded. The 2-bromoethanol is, thus, one of the transfer agents for radical polymerization to control the molecular weight and the structure of poly(MMA).     

Pseudohalogens in atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate

In recent advances in controlled radical polymerization, atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) has achieved increasing interest. This investigation reports the ATRP of methyl methacrylate (MMA) using pseudohalogens as initiator as well as an anion for copper catalyst. The results were compared with the conventional halide system. Different pseudohalides were used as the initiator for the ATRP of MMA in combination with CuX (X = pseudohalide or halide) as the catalyst. Pseudohalide initiator in combination with Cu(halide) catalyst leads to inefficient ATRP due to slow initiation. Pseudohalide initiator in combination with Cu(pseudohalide) catalyst leads to uncontrolled or no polymerization. The polymers were characterized by using GPC, IR, MALDI‐TOF‐MS, and TGA analysis. IR and MALDI analysis showed that the resultant polymer had pseudohalide as the end group. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 3857–3864, 2007     

Modeling methyl methacrylate free radical polymerization in nanoporous confinement

Nanoconfinement of methyl methacrylate free radical polymerization is known to impact the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of the polymer produced, with results in the literature generally indicating an increase in molecular weight and a concomitant decrease in polydispersity index. In the present work, the mathematical model described by Verros et al. (2005) for free radical bulk polymerization of methyl methacrylate is extended to account for polymerization in nanopores. The model of Verros et al. (2005) incorporates diffusion effects and is capable of describing the conversion and the number- and weight-average molecular weights of the resulting poly(methyl methacrylate) as a function of polymerization time and process conditions. The model is extended by incorporating the effect of nanoconfinement on diffusivity using the scaling reported in the literature. The calculations indicate that nanoconfinement will lead to higher molecular weights and lower polydispersity, and the gel effect will occur earlier. The results are compared to experimental work and implications discussed.     

Atom transfer radical suspension polymerization of methyl methacrylate catalyzed by CuCl/bpy

Atom transfer radical suspension polymerization (suspension ATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was carried out using 1-chloro-1-phenylethane (1-PECl) as initiator, copper chloride/bipyridine (CuCl/bpy) as catalyst. The polymerization was accomplished with a mechanical agitator under the protection of nitrogen atmosphere. Apart from the dispersing agent (1% PVA), NaCl was also used in the water phase to decrease the diffusion of CuCl/bpy to water and the influence of the concentration of NaCl was investigated. Subsequently, the kinetic behavior of the suspension ATRP of MMA at different temperatures was studied. At 90 and 95 °C, the polymerization showed first order with respect to monomer concentration until high conversion. The molecular weight (M_n) of the polymer increased with monomer conversion. However, at lower temperatures, different levels of autoacceleration was observed. The polymerization deviated from first order with respect to monomer concentration when the conversion was up to some degree. The lower the temperature was, the more the deviation displayed. On comparison with bulk ATRP of MMA, the rate of suspension ATRP was much faster.     

Silica-supported quinine-CuBr catalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate

9-Amino epi-quinine was used as a ligand in the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) for the first time, and high monomer conversion as well as small polydispersity could be obtained. The 9-amino epi-quinine-containing organosilane was synthesized and immobilized onto three different silica supports, i.e., fumed SiO₂, SBA-15, and MCM-48, followed by complexing with CuBr. With the MCM-48 supported catalyst, polymerization of methyl methacrylate achieved high monomer conversion, small polydispersity, and low residual copper content in the product. This heterogeneous catalyst could also be recycled effectively.     

Effect of LiClO4 on radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate

The effect of LiClO₄ on the polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) with dimethyl 2,2′-azobisisobutyrate (MAIB) was investigated at 50°C in methyl ethyl ketone. The polymerization proceeded homogeneously even at [LiClO₄] as high as 3.00 mol/L. The polymerization rate (R_p) and the molecular weight of the resulting polymer profoundly increased with increasing [LiClO₄]. R_p at 3.00 mol/L [LiClO₄] was 12 times that in the absence of LiClO₄. The rate equation depended on the presence or absence of LiClO₄: R_p = k′[MAIB]^0.5 [MMA]^1.5 in the presence of 3.00 mol/L [LiClO₄] and R_p = k[MAIB]^0.5 [MMA]^1.0 in the absence of LiClO₄. The overall activation energies of polymerization were 38.5 kJ/mol in the presence of 3.00 mol/L [LiClO₄] and 77.4 kJ/mol in the absence of LiClO₄, respectively. The tacticities of resulting poly(MMA) were insensitive to the presence of LiClO₄. In the copolymerization of MMA and styrene, Q and e values of MMA increased with increasing [LiClO₄], leading to enhanced alternating copolymerizability. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 63: 1361–1368, 1997     

Effects of reaction conditions on poly(methyl methacrylate) polymerized by living radical polymerization with iniferter

Living radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) through the use of benzyl diethyl dithiocarbamate (BDC) was studied. The aim was to investigate the role of the concentration, BDC‐to‐MMA mol ratio, and reaction time upon the molecular weight, polydispersity, and conversion of the product. It was found that the molecular weight and the conversion increase with increase of the concentration at the expense of low polydispersity. The reaction time also played a significant role, especially at a relatively long reaction time where molecular weight, polydispersity, and conversion increased with increasing reaction time. In terms of the mol ratio effect, it was found that there was a critical mol ratio for maximum conversion. The results indicate that the kinetics of polymerization of MMA through the use of a BDC inifeter is different from that in the presence of a conventional initiator. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 75: 938–944, 2000     

Ultrafast preparation of branched poly(methyl Acrylate) through single electron transfer living radical polymerization at room temperature

Ultrafast preparation of branched poly(methyl acrylate) (BPMA) with high‐molecular weight through single electron transfer living radical polymerization (SET‐LRP) of inimer at 25°C has been attempted, atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) at 60°C was also carried out for comparison. Gas chromatography, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, and triple detection size exclusion chromatography were used to analyze these polymerizations. As expected, SET‐LRP system showed much faster polymerization rate than ATRP system, the calculated apparent propagation rate constants (k_p^app) are 3.69 × 10^?2 min^?1 and 6.23 × 10^?3 min^?1 for SET‐LRP and ATRP system, respectively. BPMA with high‐molecular weight (M_w._MALLS = 86,400 g mol^?1) compared with that in ATRP (M_w.MALLS = 61,400 g mol^?1) has been prepared. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1579–1584, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Synthesis and characterization of methyl methacrylate/styrene hyperbranched copolymers via living radical mechanism

Free‐radical copolymerizations of N,N‐diethylaminodithiocarbamoylmethylstyrene (inimer: DTCS) with a methyl methacrylate (MMA)/zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) complex were carried out under UV light irradiation. DTCS monomers play an important role in this copolymerization system as an inimer that is capable of initiating living radical polymerization of the vinyl group. The reactivity ratios (r₁ = 0.56 and r₂ = 0.52: DTCS [M₁]; MMA [M₂]) obtained for this copolymerization system were different from a corresponding model system (alternating copolymer) of a styrene and MMA/ZnCl₂ complex (r₁ = 0.25 and r₂ = 0.056). It was found that the hyperbranched copolymers produced exhibited a random branching structure. It was found that the Lewis acid ZnCl₂ formed the complex not only with MMA but also with the carbamate group of inimer. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 2490–2495, 2003     

Reverse atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in different solvents

The reverse atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate was investigated in different solvents: xylene, N,N‐dimethylformamide, and pyridine. The polymerizations were uncontrolled, using 2,2′‐bipyridine as a ligand in xylene and pyridine because the catalyst (CuBr₂/2,2′‐bipyridine complex) had poor solubility in the xylene system. In the pyridine system, the solubility of the catalyst increased, but the solvent could complex with CuBr₂, which influenced the control of the polymerization. In the N,N‐dimethylformamide system, the catalyst could be dissolved in the solvent completely, but the ? N(CH₃)₂ group in N,N‐dimethylformamide could also complex with CuBr₂, so the polymerization could not be well controlled. The ligand of 4,4′‐di(5‐nonyl)‐2,2′‐bipyridine was also investigated in xylene; the introduction of the ? CH(C₄H₉)₂ group enabled the CuBr₂/4,4′‐di(5‐nonyl)‐2,2′‐bipyridine complex to easily dissolve in xylene, and the polymerizations were well controlled. The number‐average molecular weight increased linearly with the monomer conversion from 4280 to 14,700. During the whole polymerization, the polydispersities were quite low (1.07–1.10). © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2007     

Modeling the free radical solution and bulk polymerization of methyl methacrylate

This paper reviews our current understanding of the kinetics and mechanisms of free-radical chain polymerization of methyl methacrylate. A mathematical model previously proposed to describe the bulk polymerization of MMA is here extended to cover solution polymerization. This extended model is validated by comparing its predictions with experimental data over a range of conversions and product molecular weights.     

Surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate on magnetite nanoparticles

The synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles coated with a well-defined graft polymer is reported. The magnetite nanoparticles with an initiator group for copper-mediated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), 2-(4-chlorosulfonylphenyl) ethyltrichlorosilane (CTCS) chemically bound on their surfaces were prepared by the self-assembled monolayer-deposition method. The surface-initiated ATRP of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was carried out with the CTCS-coated magnetite nanoparticles in the presence of free (sacrificing) initiator, p-toluenesulfonyl chloride. Polymerization proceeded in a living fashion, exhibiting first-order kinetics of monomer consumption and a proportional relationship between molecular weight of the graft polymer and monomer conversion, thus providing well-defined, low-polydispersity graft polymers with an approximate graft density of 0.7 chains/nm². The molecular weight and polydispersity of the graft polymer were nearly equal to those of the free polymer produced in the solution, meaning that the free polymer is a good measure of the characteristics of the graft polymer. The graft polymer possessed exceptionally high stability and remarkably improved dispersibility of the magnetite nanoparticles in organic solvent.     

Atom transfer radical bulk polymerization of methyl methacrylate under microwave irradiation

Microwave irradiation (MI) was applied to the atom transfer radical bulk polymerization of methyl methacrylate. The influence of the amount of the refluxing solvent used for controlling the polymerization temperature, irradiation power, irradiation time, and initiator concentration on the conversion, molecular weight, and molecular weight distribution of the polymers was studied with a benzyl chloride/cuprous chloride/2,2′‐bipyridyl initiation system and compared with the corresponding conventional heating (CH) process. In comparison with CH, the results can be summarized as follows. The polymerization rate for reaching 70% conversion increased 2.6–5.1 times under an irradiation power of 270–630 W. The apparent increasing rate constant was much larger than that with CH and increased with the irradiation power. MI produced a higher polymerization rate and conversion even if the concentration of the initiation system was very low (initial monomer concentration/initial initiator concentration = 200:0.33 mol/mol) and the polydispersity index (DI) was narrower; however, CH yielded almost no polymers. MI promoted the activities of the catalyst and monomer, and its initiation efficiency was higher than that with CH and increased with the irradiation power. MI obviously played an important role in promoting the polymerization rate of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). MI reduced the concentration of the initiation system and perhaps made ATRP controlled (cf. uncontrolled ATRP with CH); at the same time, it made the DI values of the polymers narrower. In comparison with the initiation efficiencies found with benzyl bromide and 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile used as initiators, the initiation efficiency with p‐toluene sulfonyl chloride used as an initiator was higher; moreover, DI was much narrower (1.17), and the polymerization rate was greater. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1787–1793, 2003     

甲基丙烯酸甲酯的反向原子转移自由基沉淀聚合反应的研究

以甲基丙烯酸甲酯（MMA）为单体,偶氮二异丁腈（AIBN）为引发剂,以氯化铜（CuCl2）/2,4,6-三（二甲氨基甲基）苯酚（DMP-30）为催化体系,以乙醇为溶剂,进行了甲基丙烯酸甲酯的反向原子转移自由基沉淀聚合。聚合反应速率对单体呈一级动力学特征,数均分子量与单体转化率呈线性关系。     

澳化亚铜催化下的甲基丙烯酸甲醋(MMA)与乙烯的共聚合

以溴化亚铜为催化剂,采用原子转移自由基聚合方法对MMA和乙烯进行共聚合,用核磁共振法表征了共聚物中聚乙烯的含量。结果表明,在压力为6MPa的条件下,MMA与乙烯共聚物中聚乙烯的摩尔分数可达到15.9％。关键词：甲基丙烯     

Modeling methyl methacrylate free radical polymerization: Reaction in hydrophobic nanopores

Free radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in nanopores has been shown to result in a decrease in the time for the onset of autoacceleration. In this work, we simplify our previous kinetic model of nanoconfined methyl methacrylate polymerization, which was based on the work of Verros and coworkers, and incorporate diffusion effects into the model using the Doolittle free volume theory. The simplified model well describes the experimental calorimetric conversion versus time data for isothermal bulk methyl methacrylate polymerization, capturing autoacceleration and the dependence of the limiting conversion on temperature. In order to model the reaction in nanopores, we assume that the diffusion coefficient scales with molecular size to the ?3 power and with nanopore diameter to the 1.3 power. Experimental calorimetric conversion versus time data for polymerization in hydrophobic nanopores are well captured by the model, including the decrease in the time to reach autoacceleration with decreasing pore size. The scaling assumed is consistent with that predicted using molecular simulations for good solvent conditions by Avramova and Milchev and by Cui, Ding, and Chen. According to the fit of the experimental data, chain diffusivity is 20–50% of the bulk value in 13 nm-diameter pores.