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Updated: Sep 22, 2025

Efficient Synthesis of Polyfunctionalized Benzenes in Water via Persulfate-promoted Benzannulation of α,β-Unsaturated Compounds and Alkynes
Published on: December 16, 2019
Graphene Oxide as a Radical Initiator: Free Radical and Controlled Radical Polymerization of Sodium
Dmitry Voylov1,2, Tomonori Saito3,4, Bradley Lokitz3,4
1Department of Chemistry and ∥Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37916-1600, United States.
Abstract:
The free radical and controlled radical polymerization of sodium 4-vinylbenzenesulfonate using graphene oxide as a radical initiator was studied. This work demonstrates that graphene oxide can initiate radical polymerization in an aqueous solution without any additional initiator. Poly(sodium 4-vinylbenzenesulfonate) obtained via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization had a controlled molecular weight with a very narrow polydispersity ranging between 1.01 and 1.03. The reduction process of graphene oxide as well as the resulting composite material properties were analyzed in detail.
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