Sunlight-driven photoinduced electron/energy transfer-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization...

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Photocatalysis
• Sustainable Synthesis

Background:

• Photoinduced electron/energy transfer-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (PET-RAFT) polymerization offers sustainable polymer synthesis.
• Challenges exist in scaling up PET-RAFT and utilizing sunlight for industrial applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a heterogeneous photocatalyst for efficient PET-RAFT polymerization under broad wavelengths and sunlight.
• To demonstrate the scalability and reusability of the developed photocatalyst for industrial polymer production.

Main Methods:

• Exploration of conjugated cross-linked phosphine (PPh3-CHCP) as a heterogeneous photocatalyst.
• PET-RAFT polymerization of various monomers using PPh3-CHCP under different light sources, including sunlight.
• Scale-up studies of methyl acrylate polymerization to 2 L and 6 L.

Main Results:

• PPh3-CHCP enabled high monomer conversions, low dispersity, and good chain-end fidelity in PET-RAFT polymerization.
• The heterogeneous photocatalyst was easily recovered and reused without significant loss of efficiency.
• Successful sunlight-driven polymerization of methyl acrylate reached a 2 L scale with 93% conversion and Đ = 1.13.
• White light-driven polymerization achieved a 6 L scale with 91% conversion and Đ = 1.27.

Conclusions:

• Conjugated cross-linked phosphine (PPh3-CHCP) is an effective heterogeneous photocatalyst for scalable PET-RAFT polymerization.
• The developed method shows significant potential for industrial applications in sustainable polymer synthesis.
• Reusability and efficiency under sunlight irradiation highlight the practical advantages of this approach.