Evolution of ppm amount of Ru(III) complexes for effective living radical polymerization of MMA

Abstract

Three half-metallocene ruthenium(III) complexes, [(Cp*RuCl2)PPh2R] (R = C6H4–OCH3,C6H5, and C5H5N were prepared. These Ru(III) complexes polymerized MMA successfully via ATRP in the absence of any reducing agent or free radical initiator. All of three complexes produced a linear relationship between ln[Mn]0/[Mn] versus the reaction time and the living properties through a linear increase in molecular weight versus conversion. Especially, well-defined PMMA and high initiation efficiency were obtained in the presence of 10 ppm catalysts.