BaTiO3 catalyzed ultrasonic driven piezoelectric induced miniemulsion atom transfer radical polymerization (Piezo-miniATRP)

Abstract

Compared with other stimulus such as light and heat, ultrasonic possesses much deeper penetration into tissues and organs and has lower scattering in heterogeneous systems as a noninvasive stimulus, and has already been used as the external stimulus to initiate reversible-deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP). However, the development of efficient ultrasonic drive RDRP in aqueous dispersed media remains a challenge. Here in this work, ultrasonic driven piezoelectric induced miniemulsion atom transfer radical polymerization (Piezo-miniATRP) was performed, with tetragonal BaTiO3 (BTO) nanoparticles as the piezoelectric catalyst. The Piezo-miniATRP exhibited features of controllable and livingness, such as linear increase of molar mass and narrow molar mass distributions (Mw/Mn < 1.30). The effect of different polymerization parameters on the polymerization reaction was investigated, including the amounts of surfactant, CuBr2 and BTO dosages. Excellent temporal control of the polymerization and the chain fidelity of polymers were illustrated by “ON and OFF” experiment and chain extension, separately. This novel BTO catalyzed Piezo-miniATRP process could also be extended to other aqueous dispersion RDRP systems.