Effective Cobalt Mediation of the Radical Polymerization of Vinyl Acetate in Suspension

Abstract

A poly(vinyl acetate) macroinitiator, preformed by a cobalt-mediated technique, facilitates controlled radical polymerization of vinyl acetate (VAc) in suspension in water. The molar mass increases with monomer conversion, as demonstrated by size exclusion chromatograms (see picture), and the polydispersity remains low at 1.2–1.4. Moreover, the VAc polymerization rate is much higher in suspension than in the bulk.