Radical chain polymerization living

Comparison of the Two Reactions Step-Growth Polymerization in More Detail Making PET in the Melt Interfacial Poly condensation Chain-Growth Polymerization in More Detail Free Radical Chain Polymerization Going One Step Better Emulsion Polymerization Copolymerization Ionic Chain Polymerization It Lives ... 

RADICAL CHAIN POLYMERIZATION TABLE 3-2 Half-Lives of Initiators ... 

While living polymerizations can be exploited to produce block copolymers, a copolymerization should give polymer chains that contain both monomers distributed throughout. You might expect that a radical chain polymerization would give a truly random copolymer. Radicals are quite reactive and not known for their selectivity. In fact, though, radical copolymerizations are not totally random, and some quite distinctive polymer compositions can be achieved. Consider a radical polymerization progressing in the presence of two different monomers. 

In conventional radical polymerization, the chain length distribution of propagating species is broad and new short chains are formed continually by initiation. As has been stated above, the population balance means that, termination, most frequently, involves the reaction of a shorter, more mobile, chain with a longer, less mobile, chain. In living radical polymerizations, the chain lengths of most propagating species are similar (i.e. i j) and increase with conversion. Ideally, in ATRP and NMP no new chains are fonned. In practice,... 

N-Alkoxylamines 88 are a class of initiators in "living" radical polymerization (Scheme 14). A new methodology for their synthesis mediated by (TMSlsSiH has been developed. The method consists of the trapping of alkyl radicals generated in situ by stable nitroxide radicals. To accomplish this simple reaction sequence, an alkyl bromide or iodide 87 was treated with (TMSlsSiH in the presence of thermally generated f-BuO radicals. The reaction is not a radical chain process and stoichiometric quantities of the radical initiator are required. This method allows the generation of a variety of carbon-centered radicals such as primary, secondary, tertiary, benzylic, allylic, and a-carbonyl, which can be trapped with various nitroxides. 

Keywords Controlled Polymerization Living Radical Polymerization Iniferter Chain-End Structure Molecular Weight Control Block Copolymer Dithiocarbamate Disulfide Nitroxide Transition Metal Complex... 

For classical free radical polymerizations the rate of propagation is proportional to the concentration of monomer and the square root of the initiator concentration. Termination usually occurs through a coupling of two live radical chains but can occur through disproportionation. The rate of termination for coupling is directly proportional to initiator concentration. The DP is directly proportional to monomer concentration and inversely proportional to the square root of the initiator concentration. 

If moisture and oxygen are rigorously excluded, the anionic groups are stable indefinitely, and if more monomer is added polymerization will continue. Hence the name living polymer, in contrast to a radical-induced polymerization, which only can be restarted with fresh monomer and fresh initiator, and even then not by growth on the ends of the existing chains. 

Figure 2.2 Evolution of the degree of polymerization, DPn, of primary chains for (i) free-radical chainwise polymerization and (ii) anionic (living) polymerization.

The color change and the sensitivity of conversion to order of addition of monomers and peroxide indicate that in order to obtain an AFR polymer the polar monomers must first be complexed or allowed to react with the active or living end of the anionic polymer chain, or otherwise solvate it before the polymer chain is attacked by the peroxide. Success or failure of the subsequent free radical block polymerization depends on the nature of the complex or reaction product formed. The resultant species are no longer active for propylene polymerization. The necessity of complex formation has also been observed by Milovskaya and coworkers (4). They have shown that vinyl chloride, a weak complexing agent, can be polymerized effectively with triethylaluminum peroxide only when it is present with a more active complexing compound such as an ester or an ether. 

We often want to prevent or retard free-radical reactions. For example, oxygen in the air oxidizes and spoils foods, solvents, and other compounds mostly by free-radical chain reactions. Chemical intermediates may decompose or polymerize by free-radical chain reactions. Even the cells in living systems are damaged by radical reactions, which can lead to aging, cancerous mutations, or cell death. 

With the recent development of living radical polymerization, the problem of gel formation during radical polymerization possibly can be controlled. This is because termination by radical chain coupling is virtually eliminated. Thus Hawker reported the preparation of soluble hyperbranched polystyrene using alkoxyamine IV as a living radical polymerization initiator [12]. 

The specificity of the reaction mechanism to the chemistry of the initiator, co-initiator and monomer as well as to the termination mechanism means that a totally general kinetic scheme as has been possible for free-radical addition polymerization is inappropriate. However, the general principles of the steady-state approximation to the reactive intermediate may still be applied (with some limitations) to obtain the rate of polymerization and the kinetic chain length for this living polymerization. Using a simplified set of reactions (Allcock and Lampe, 1981) for a system consisting of the initiator, I, and co-initiator, RX, added to the monomer, M, the following elementary reactions and their rates may be... 

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