Facile Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Methoxy-Capped Oligo(ethylene glycol) Methacrylate in Aqueous Media at Ambient Temperature

By Xiaosong Wang, S. Armes. 2000

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We report the facile atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of a commercially available hydrophilic monomer, methoxy-capped oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (OEGMA), under remarkably mild conditions. Various bromide-based initiators, in conjunction with a copper-based catalyst, allow rapid homopolymerization of OEGMA in water at 20 °C. Good living character was achieved with two ligands, namely 2,2‘-bipyridine (bpy) and 1,1,4,7,10,10-hexamethyltriethylenetetramine (HMTETA). Kinetic studies confirm that, for bpy, 90% conversion is typically achieved within 20 min, and the polymerization is first order even up to very high conversions. Molecular weight increases linearly with conversion and is close to the target molecular weight in all cases. Polydispersities remain narrow (Mw/Mn = 1.15−1.30) throughout the polymerization. It is possible to lower the copper catalyst by a factor of 10 (i.e., [Cu(I)]/[initiator] = 0.10) without significant loss of control over the polymerization, which is good eviden...

Subfields: Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry

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