Sustainable Electrochemically-Mediated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization with Inexpensive Non-Platinum Electrodes

Electrochemically-mediated atom transfer radical polymerization (eATRP) of oligo(ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate in water is investigated on glassy carbon, Au, Ti, Ni, NiCr and SS304. eATRPs are performed both in divided and undivided electrochemical cells operating under either potentiostatic or galvanostatic mode. The reaction is fast, reaching high conversions in ≈4 h, and yields polymers with dispersity <1.2 and molecular weights close to the theoretical values. Most importantly, eATRP in a highly simplified setup (undivided cell under galvanostatic mode) with inexpensive nonnoble metals, such as NiCr and SS304, as cathode is well-controlled. Additionally, these electrodes neither release harmful ions in solution nor react directly with the CX chain end and can be reused several times. It is demonstrated that Pt can be replaced with cheaper, and more readily available materials without negatively affecting eATRP performance.