Air‐tolerantly surface‐initiated AGET ATRP mediated by iron catalyst from silica nanoparticles

Abstract

AbstractWell‐defined polymer‐nanoparticle hybrids were prepared by a newly reported method: atom transfer radical polymerization using activators generated by electron transfer (AGET ATRP) mediated by iron catalyst. The kinetics of the surface‐initiated AGET ATRP of methyl methacrylate from the silica nanoparticles, which was mediated by FeCl3/triphenylphosphine as a catalyst complex, ascorbic acid as a reducing agent, N,N‐dimethylformamide as the solvent in the presence of a “sacrificial” (free) initiator, was studied. Both the free and grafted polymers were grown in a control manner. The chemical composition of the nanocomposites was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to estimate the content of the grafted organic compound, and transmission electron micrographs was used to observe the core‐shell structure of the hybrid nanoparticles. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2006–2015, 2010