RAFT polymerization in supercritical carbon dioxide based on an induced precipitation approach: Synthesis of 2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate/acrylamide block copolymers

Abstract

A new controlled/living heterogeneous polymerization technique using RAFT in benign supercritical CO2 is described involving the formation of monomer-swollen seed particles by precipitation of macroRAFT agent prior to polymerization. Controlled/living character of the induced precipitation is compared with the equivalent solution polymerization. The large scale synthesis of poly(2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate)-b-poly(acrylamides) useful for biomedical applications is made possible with the polymer isolated as powders at high conversions, thus circumventing the requirement for volatile organic solvents. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015, 53, 2351–2356