Chemical Research in Chinese Universities ›› 2023, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (5): 816-821.doi: 10.1007/s40242-023-3171-5

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Dispersity Regulation in Photo-controlled Radical Polymerization by Merging Aryl Sulfonyl Chloride Initiators and Mixed Disulfide Agents

ZHANG Lu, ZHANG Zexi, CHEN Mao   

  1. Department of Macromolecular Science, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, P. R. China
  • Received:2023-07-27 Online:2023-10-01 Published:2023-09-26
  • Contact: CHEN Mao E-mail:chenmao@fudan.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.22171051), the Shanghai Pilot Program for Basic Research-Fudan University 21TQ1400100, China (No.21TQ007) and the Project of the State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Fudan University, China.

Abstract: On-demand regulation of molecular weight distribution (MWD) is crucial to influence the properties of polymers. In this work, we reported an organocatalyzed photo-controlled radical polymerization (photo-CRP) from the tosyl chloride initiator by combining two disulfides as chain transfer agents. This novel synthetic protocol allows facile access toward well-defined polymers with tunable MWDs and predetermined molecular weights. Experiments including structural characterization, kinetic investigation and chain-extension polymerization exhibited good chain-growth control for polymers of different dispersities. Given the easy accessibility of the initiating site (sulfonyl chloride) on many aromatic sources, this work presents a promising avenue to modify such substances with polymers of tailored MWDs, chain lengths and repeating units under metal-free and mild conditions driven by light.

Key words: Reversible deactivation radical polymerization, Photo-controlled radical polymerization, Organocatalyst, Molecular weight distribution, Polymer chemistry