Metal-Free Photoinitiated, Controlled Cationic Polymerization of Vinyl Ethers Using Organic Iodides
Miao Chen1,2, Jiale Xu1, Guo Li1, Wenjing Shu1, Jiajia Li1（李佳佳）*, Greg G. Qiao2*, Jian Zhu1（朱健）*
1State and Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Design and Application, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering,College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China;
2Polymer Science Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Melbourne Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
Macromolecules 2024, 57, 21, 10275–10282
Abstract: Metal-free cationic polymerization enables the preparation of polymers without residual metal contamination, eliminating the need for additional purification. Here, a metal-free photoinitiating polymerization of isobutyl vinyl ether (IBVE) was developed using organic iodide as the initiator precursor. PIBVE with controlled molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution (Đ < 1.10) was successfully obtained. The polymerization kinetics demonstrated a controlled reaction, and in situ chain extension was demonstrated. In addition, we introduced a latent initiator strategy, allowing to control the generation process of the initiator through adjustment of the light source and providing a facile way to tune the MWD of the obtained polymer.
Article information: //doi.org/10.1021/acs.macromol.4c01382
