Photoinduced Metal-Free Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Acrylonitrile

Abstract

Photoinduced metal-free atom transfer radical polymerization has been successfully extended to the synthesis of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with predictable molecular weights and low dispersities. This was achieved using phenothiazine derivatives as photoredox catalysts, which activate dormant alkyl bromides to reversibly form propagating radicals. Both ¹H NMR spectroscopy and chain-end extension polymerization show highly preserved Br chain-end functionality in the synthesized PAN.