Group transfer polymerization of acrylic monomers using hexamethyldisilazane as initiator and tetrabutylammonium fluoride as coinitiator

Abstract

As [M]/[I] ratios increase at constant coinitiator concentration, the reaction reached nearly complete conversion and the number average molecular weight passed a maximum. It was observed that for constant initiator concentration the maximum conversion with increasing coinitator concentration was showed. The molecular weight and dispersity by GTP of methacrylate (MA), n-butyl methacrylate(BMA), acrylonitrile(AN), 2-(trimethylsilyoxy) ethyl methacrylate, and methylmethacrylate(MMA) in tetrahydrofuran (THF) or N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as solvent with hexamethyldisilazane (HMDSZ) as initiator and tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) as coinitiator were obtained in the range 6300 to 23600 and 1.05 to 7.41, respectively. Block copolymers, e.g., PMMA/PBMA, PMMA/PBMA, PMMA/PHEMA, PBMA/PHEMA, and PMMA/PAN were synthesized by GTP. It will be investigated that the process of this polymerization can also be used to prepare polymers containing one or more specially located functional groups.