A Very Useful Redox Initiator for Aqueous RAFT Polymerization of N-Isopropylacrylamide and Acrylamide at Room Temperature

✍ Scribed by Wei Bai; Liang Zhang; Ruke Bai; Guangzhao Zhang

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2008
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 171 KB
• Volume: 29
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1022-1336
• DOI: 10.1002/marc.200700823

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerizations of N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM), and acrylamide (AM) were successfully performed in aqueous media at ambient temperature using a redox initiator, potassium persulfate (K~2~S~2~O~8~), and sodium thiosulfate (Na~2~S~2~O~3~). The molecular weight of the polymers obtained increases linearly with monomer conversion, molecular weight distribution is narrow even at high conversion (>90%), and a linear relationship exists between ln([M]~0~/[M]) and polymerization time. Moreover, self‐chain extension reaction also proceeded successfully. All the results demonstrate that K~2~S~2~O~8~–Na~2~S~2~O~3~ is a very efficient initiating system for the RAFT polymerizations of NIPAM and AM in aqueous media at room temperature.

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