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One-pot and One-step Cu(0)-mediated Reversible-Deactivation Radical Polymerization of N-Isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) in Water

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Abstract

Copper(0)-mediated reversible-deactivation radical polymerization (Cu(0)-mediated RDRP) of the water-soluble monomer N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) has been challenging with the problems of high dispersity, poor control over the molecular weights (MWs) or complex or multi reaction steps, etc. In this work, we report the well-controlled polymerization of NIPAM in water via a facile one-pot and one-step Cu(0)-mediated RDRP. The results of this approach show that the key for kicking off the Cu(0)-mediated NIPAM RDRPs is to ensure sufficient CuI at the very beginning, and the key to achieve a well-controlled chain growth is to provide adequate deactivation strength during the polymerization process. For NIPAM, which has a high propagation rate constant, the deactivation control can be effectively enhanced by extra adding deactivator (i.e., CuII) to the system. Moreover, a low reaction temperature (4 °C) is necessary in the controlled synthesis of higher MW poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) to avoid the compromise in control caused by the phase transition from its lower critical solution temperature (LCST). Through this new kinetically controlled strategy, PNIPAMs with well-defined structure, narrow molecular weight distributions (MWDs) and varied MWs were successfully achieved.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) Frontiers for the Future 2019 call (No. 19/FFP/6522), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (No. 51873179) and Irish Research Council (IRC) Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship (No. GOIPD/2022/209).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Precision Medicine (AUST-IPM), Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, 232001, China

    Zi-Shan Li & Wen-Xin Wang

  2. Charles Institute of Dermatology, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, D04 V1W8, Ireland

    Zi-Shan Li, Jing Lyu, Bei Qiu, Ying-Hao Li, Ruth Foley, Ri-Jian Song, Melissa Johnson, Qiang Geng & Wen-Xin Wang

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  1. Zi-Shan Li
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  2. Jing Lyu
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  3. Bei Qiu
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  4. Ying-Hao Li
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Correspondence to Jing Lyu or Wen-Xin Wang.

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One-pot and One-step Cu(0)-mediated Reversible-Deactivation Radical Polymerization of N-Isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) in Water

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Li, ZS., Lyu, J., Qiu, B. et al. One-pot and One-step Cu(0)-mediated Reversible-Deactivation Radical Polymerization of N-Isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) in Water. Chin J Polym Sci 42, 1–6 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-024-3065-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-024-3065-0

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