SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HYPERBRANCHED VINYL POLYMERS FROM RAFT POLYMERIZATION OF AN ASYMMETRIC DIVINYL MONOMER

Abstract

Hyperbranched vinyl polymers were prepared by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of a styrenic asymmetric divinyl monomer. This was achieved by using cumyl dithiobenzoate or S-dodecyl-S′-(α, α ′-dimethyl-α"-acetic acid)trithiocarbonate as the chain transfer agent, 1,1′-azobis(cyclohexanecarbonitrile) or thermal initiation as a source of radicals. Cross-linking was inhibited by a rapid RAFT-based equilibrium between active propagation chains and dormant species, and thus a hyperbranched polymer with a monomer conversion as high as 80% was obtained. The hyperbranched structure and properties of the resultant polymers were characterized by a combination of 1H-NMR spectroscopy and a triple detection size exclusion chromatography (TRI-SEC). The hyperbranched vinyl polymer has a broad molecular weight distributions and a low Mark-Houwink exponent α value compared with the linear counterpart.