Light-promoted synthesis of surface-grafted polymers bearing pyridine groups by metal-free ATRP in microliter volumes

Abstract

Polymers with pendant pyridine groups (PPPGs) are pH responsive weak polyelectrolytes potentially attractive for many applications such as sensors, antibacterial coatings, and ion gating systems. Synthesis of PPPGs by classical atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is very challenging due to highly probable formation of monomer/metal complexes. In response to that, we report here a facile synthetic strategy to obtain surface-grafted PPPGs that utilizes light-mediated ATRP. Metal-free surface-initiated ATRP catalyzed by 10-phenylphenothiazine is used to polymerize three isomeric monomers with methacrylate groups attached at various positions of a pyridine ring. The reactivity of the isomers is compared for selection of optimal monomer structure leading to thick brushes. The polymerizations are conducted under visible light, at ambient conditions, and using only microliter volumes of the reaction mixture that is important for reducing the complexity and costs of the process as well as limiting chemical waste. The observed linear dependency of the brush thickness vs polymerization time for poly(pyridin-3-yl methacrylate) (PP3M) grafted from indium tin oxide or silicon wafers indicated the controlled characteristics of the developed method. The obtained PP3M brush demonstrated pH responsive behavior associated with protonation of pyridine groups in acidic solution and adoption of highly stretched conformation below pKa.