RAFT Polymerization of Styrene in the Presence of 2‐Nonyl‐benzoimidazole‐1‐carbodithioic Acid Benzyl Ester

Abstract

A novel dithiocarbamate, 2‐nonyl‐benzoimidazole‐1‐carbodithioic acid benzyl ester ( 1a ), was synthesized and successfully used in RAFT polymerization of styrene in bulk with thermal initiation. The effect of molar ratio of styrene to RAFT agent on the polymerization was investigated. The linear relationship between ln([M]0/[M]) and polymerization time indicated that the polymerization was first‐order with respect to monomer concentration. The molecular weights increased linearly with monomer conversion and were close to corresponding theoretical values. The molecular weight distributions (M w /M n ) kept very narrow (M w /M n <1.1) at a wide range of conversions of 14.2% to 73.3%. The obtained polymer had a strong ultraviolet absorption at 329 nm, which indicated that the 1a moiety remained at the end of polymer chain.