RAFT polymerization in supercritical carbon dioxide based on an induced precipitation approach: synthesis of 2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate/acrylamide block copolymers

Abstract

A new controlled/living heterogeneous polymerization technique using RAFT in benign supercritical CO2 is described involving the formation of monomer-swollen seed particles by precipitation of macroRAFT agent prior to polymerization. Controlled/living character of the induced precipitation is compared with the equivalent solution polymerization. The large scale synthesis of poly(2-ethoxyethyl methacrylate)-b-poly(acrylamides) useful for biomedical applications is made possible with the polymer isolated as powders at high conversions, thus circumventing the requirement for volatile organic solvents. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015, 53, 2351-2356