Carnegie Mellon University

Jian Qiu

Krzysztof A Matyjaszewski

Scott G Gaynor

Mircea Teodorescu

Xuan Zhang

Jianhui Xia

Tomislav Pintauer

Jeffrey Pyun

Hyun-jong Paik

Peter J Miller

Further improvements have been made in processes for controlled polymerization of free radically (co)polymerizable monomers mediated by a transition metal complex participating in a redox reaction which involves transfer of a radically transferable atom or group to and from an initiator or dormant polymer and the growing active polymer chain ends. Two improvements involve the choice of counterion in the transition metal complex. In one improvement the transition metal is held in close conjunction with a solid support through interaction with a counterion directly attached to the support. This cognition also allows for improvements in catalyst utilization including catalyst recovery and recycle. In another improvement, particularly suitable for controlled polymerization of certain monomers with an expanded range of transition metals, the function of counterion and ligand in the development of the transition metal based catalyst is superseded by use of salt containing a soluble organic counterion. These and other process improvements have been employed to prepare an extended range of novel polymeric materials and novel processes for the preparation of functional polymers including a novel catalytic Atom Transfer Coupling Reaction.

Catalytic processes for the controlled polymerization of free radically (co)polymerizable monomers and functional polymeric systems prepared thereby

A process is provided for the preparation of (co)polymer emulsions or suspensions from a full range of free radically (co)polymerizable monomers, wherein the (co)polymers exhibit the characteristics of 'living' polymerization, including one or more of predictable molecular weights, narrow or controllable molecular weight distributions and a variety of polymer architectures, including the roles of surfactants, catalyst and ligands, several initiation methods, and methods for catalyst removal from the emulsions or suspensions made, and the (co)polymer emulsions and suspensions made thereby.

Application of atom transfer radical polymerization to water-borne

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Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America

Jian Qiu