Mechanistic and kinetic investigation of Cu(II)-catalyzed controlled radical polymerization enabled by ultrasound irradiation

Controlled radical polymerization (CRP) under external field has been an attractive research area in these years. In this work, a new electron transfer mechanism, that is, sonochemically induced electron transfer (SET) was introduced to mediate polymerization for the first time. The activator Cu^IX/L complex was (re)generated from Cu^IIX₂/L in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) by the SET process in the presence of free ligand tris(2-dimethylaminoethyl)amine (Me₆TREN). The investigation of polymerization including the mechanistic insights and effect of experimental conditions on the rate of reaction has been undertaken. Kinetics of Cu(II)-catalyzed CRPs via SET under different conditions (i.e., Me₆TREN concentration, catalyst loading, targeted degree of polymerization, and sonication power) were conducted in an unprecedentedly controlled manner, yielding polymers with predetermined molar masses and low dispersities (Đ < 1.12). Attractively, the polymerization can be performed without the piezoelectric nanoparticles and exogenous reducing agent. Contamination by nonliving chains formed from sonochemically generated radicals is avoided as well. All of these results supported that Cu(II)-based catalyst activation enabled by ultrasonication has a promising potential in scale-up of CRP.