A New Star Polymethylmethacrylates by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

Abstract

In this paper, a new high molecular weight 4-arm star polymethylmethacrylates (PMMA) is synthesized by a "core-first" method. The process is as follows: tetra-functional initiator is synthesized by esterification reaction of ethylenediamine-N,N,N',N'-tetra-2-propanol. The reaction creates a new core that is used as an initiator and employed in the homogenous atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of MMA monomer. The ATRP process is carried out in presence of CuBr as a catalyst and 2,2'-bipyridine ligands to synthesize star polymers with high conversion, low polydispersity and nearly monomodal molecular distributions.