Living Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate Mediated by Tris-(4-Acetyphenyl)Methane

Abstract

Pseudo-living radical polymerization and reverse atom transfer radical polymerization (RATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) were reported, utilizing tris-(4-acetyphenyl) methane (TAcPM) as the thermal iniferter and initiator, respectively. The polymerization of MMA using TAcPM as thermal iniferter possesses pseudo-living characteristics: Mnincreases with conversion in a certain range, and the resulted polymer can be used as the macro-initiator for chain extension. The RATRP using TAcPM as the initiator shows linear kinetic plot, linear increase of Mnwith conversion and narrow polydispersity indice (PDI) of the resultant polymers.