0000000000609078

AUTHOR

Krzysztof Matyjaszewski

Copolymerization of n-Butyl Acrylate with Methyl Methacrylate and PMMA Macromonomers:  Comparison of Reactivity Ratios in Conventional and Atom Transfer Radical Copolymerization

The reactivity ratios of n-butyl acrylate (nBuA) with methyl methacrylate (MMA) and ω-methacryloyl-PMMA macromonomers (MM) in conventional and atom transfer radical copolymerization (ATRP) have been determined. For the copolymerization of nBuA with MMA, good agreement of the ratios is observed between conventional and controlled radical copolymerization, indicating that chemoselectivities in both processes are similar. The relative reactivity of the MM (1/rnBuA) in conventional copolymerization is significantly lower than that of MMA. It depends on the concentration of the comonomers but is not significantly influenced by the length of the MM. At high concentrations the relative reactivity …

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Atom transfer radical polymerization with different halides (F, Cl, Br, and I): Is the process "living" in the presence of fluorinated initiators?

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is often used for grafting from fluorinated polymers. Nevertheless, the possibility to initiate an ATRP from a C-F functionality and the activity of the catalysts in the presence of fluoride anions are essentially unexplored. Therefore, we investigated the thermodynamics and kinetics of C-F bond activation by ATRP catalysts and compared it with other halide systems. The ATRP equilibrium constant was estimated to be small for the reaction between [CuITPMA]+ and benzyl fluoride (TPMA = tris(2-pyridylmethyl)- amine). However, [CuITPMA] + could react with the more active initiator diethyl fluoromalonate (DEFM). With DEFM as initiator and CuIBr/TPMA as…

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Molecular Parameters of Hyperbranched Polymers Made by Self-Condensing Vinyl Polymerization. 2. Degree of Branching

Using a modified definition, the average degree of branching, , the fraction of branchpoints, , as well as the fractions of various structural units are calculated as a function of conversion of double bonds for hyperbranched polymers formed by self-condensing vinyl polymerization (SCVP) of monomers (or “inimers”) with the general structure AB*, where A is a vinyl group and B* is an initiating group. The results are compared to those for the polycondensation of AB2-type monomers. At full conversion, is somewhat smaller for SCVP ( ∞ ≈ 0.465) than for AB2 systems ( ∞ = 0.5). There are two kinds of linear groups in SCVP whereas there is only one kind in AB2 systems. Since there are two differe…

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Disentangling the Role of Chain Conformation on the Mechanics of Polymer Tethered Particle Materials

[Image: see text] The linear elastic properties of isotropic materials of polymer tethered nanoparticles (NPs) are evaluated using noncontact Brillouin light spectroscopy. While the mechanical properties of dense brush materials follow predicted trends with NP composition, a surprising increase in elastic moduli is observed in the case of sparsely grafted particle systems at approximately equal NP filling ratio. Complementary molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the stiffening is caused by the coil-like conformations of the grafted chains, which lead to stronger polymer–polymer interactions compared to densely grafted NPs with short chains. Our results point to novel opportunities to …

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The Next 100 Years of Polymer Science

International audience; The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the first article on poly merization, published by Hermann Staudinger. It is Staudinger who realized that polymers consist of long chains of covalently linked building blocks. Polymers have had a tremendous impact on the society ever since this initial publication. People live in a world that is almost impossible to imagine without synthetic polymers. But what does the future hold for polymer science? In this article, the editors and advisory board of Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics reflect on this question.

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Preparation of Hyperbranched Polyacrylates by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization. 2. Kinetics and Mechanism of Chain Growth for the Self-Condensing Vinyl Polymerization of 2-((2-Bromopropionyl)oxy)ethyl Acrylate

The self-condensing vinyl polymerization (SCVP) of 2-((2-bromopropionyl)oxy)ethyl acrylate (BPEA) has resulted in the formation of hyperbranched polyacrylates. The polymerization mechanism used to polymerize the BPEA was atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), a “living”/controlled radical polymerization. This paper details the study of the kinetics of polymerization and the growth of the macromolecule during the polymerization. The results obtained in the polymerization were compared to the theoretical predictions for SCVP. It was determined that the polymerization deviated from the ideal case, as a consequence of the establishment of a dynamic equilibrium in ATRP resulting in the add…

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