AbstractAmphiphilic H‐shaped [poly(ethylene oxide)]3‐polystyrene‐[poly(ethylene oxide)]3(PEO3‐PS‐PEO3) copolymer was synthesized by 2‐methyl‐2‐nitrosopropane (MNP) induced single electron transfer nitroxide radical coupling (SETNRC) using PEO3‐(PS‐Br) as a single precursor. First, the A3B star‐shaped precursor PEO3‐(PS‐Br) was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using three‐arm star‐shaped PEO3‐Br as macro‐initiator. Then, in the presence of Cu(I)Br/Me6TREN, the bromide group at PS end was sequentially transferred into carbon‐centered radical by single electron transfer and then nitroxide radical by reacting with MNP in mixed solvents of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)/tetrahydrofuran (THF), and in situ generated nitroxide radical could again capture another carbon‐centered radical by fast SETNRC to form target PEO3‐PS‐PEO3 copolymer. The MNP induced SETNRC could reach to a high efficiency of 90% within 60 min. After the product PEO3‐PS‐PEO3 was cleaved by ascorbic acid, the SEC results showed that there was about 30% fraction of product formed by single electron transfer radical coupling (SETRC) between carbon‐centered radicals. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011