Literature Seminar Abstract

In recent decades, atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) has become one of the most widely used controlled radical polymerization methods due to its operational simplicity, utilization of commercially available reagents, and ability to synthesize polymers with complex architectures from a broad range of monomers. Originally, ATRP made use of relatively large amounts of catalyst (1,000 – 10,000 ppm), though recent methods, such as activators regenerated by electron transfer (ARGET) and initiators for continuous activator regeneration (ICAR) ATRP, have reduced catalyst loadings to as low as 10 ppm. To achieve these reduced catalyst loadings, reducing agents are used to regenerate the active catalyst, which would otherwise be lost as a result of unavoidable termination reactions. However, these reducing agents can partake in undesirable side reactions and reduce control over polymer chain growth, necessitating a method to regenerate the catalyst without added reagents. To this end, electrochemically mediated ATRP was developed,1 achieving the same effect as ARGET and ICAR ATRP but through the use of electrochemistry. Notably, since the concentration of the active catalyst can be controlled via the applied electrochemical potential, this method also introduced a means for exerting temporal control in ATRP, allowing a polymerization to be turned “on” and “off” without loss of control over polymer growth.
(1) Magenau, A. J. D.; Strandwitz, N. C.; Gennaro, A.; Matyjaszewski, K. Science, 2011, 332, 81 – 84.