ELECTROCHEMICALLY ASSISTED ATOM TRANSFER RADICAL GRAFT COPOLYMERIZATION. PRELIMINARY STUDIES

Abstract

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is a versatile technique for exerting precise control over polymer molecular weights, molecular weight distributions, and complex architectures. It has been recently shown that an externally applied electrochemical potential can reversibly activate the copper catalyst for this process by a one-electron reduction of an initially added air-stable cubric species (Cu(II)/Ligand) [1-2]. In particular Gennaro and co-authors have shown that the polymerization kinetic can be changed modulating the external potential [1-2]. In the last years, an increasing interest has been devoted to synthesis of graft copolymers obtained from commercial polymers for incorporating specific properties into a material while retaining desiderable properties of the parent polymer. ATRP has been recently used to prepare graft copolymers from polymeric macroinitiators polymer chains with regularly spaced, pendant chemical groups containing radically transferable halogen atoms [3]. The halogen atom serve as initiation sites for the polymerization of side chains by ATRP. Our group has recently studied the atom transfer radical graft copolymerization by using halogen macroinitiators in organic and supercritical media [4]. As an extension of this work, also the electrochemically assisted atom transfer radical graft copolymerization has been studied by using various kinds of halogen macroinitiators such as poly(vinylidenefluoride) (PVDF) and poly(vinylchloride). Preliminary results will be presented in the meeting.