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Updated: May 16, 2026

Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization of Functionalized Vinyl Monomers Using Perylene as a Visible Light Photocatalyst
Published on: April 22, 2016
Heterogeneous photocatalyst enables large-scale broadband light-driven atom transfer radical polymerization with high
Wei-Wei Fang1,2, Zi-Hui Fan2, Bin Xia2
1School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Service Failure, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, P. R. China.
Abstract:
Reversible-deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) is a cornerstone of polymer industry. Normally, RDRPs are highly sensitive to oxygen and inhibitors, which hamper their industrial applications. Present methods cannot achieve facile polymerization in presence of both oxygen and inhibitors, particularly for large-scale production. Herein, we present phenanthroline-based conjugated hypercrosslinked polymer (Phen-CHCP) that serves as an efficient photocatalyst for photoinduced copper-catalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization (Cu-ATRP), exhibiting high tolerance toward oxygen and common polymerization inhibitors. Investigation indicated that heterogeneous nature enables the fast and direct initiator activation in the presence of photoexcited Phen-CHCP, not only accelerating the Cu-catalyzed redox cycle but also stabilizing the phenol inhibitor. As a result, various monomers achieved >95% conversions under broadband lights irradiation. This development strongly encourages large-scale in situ copolymerization and synthesized poly((2-methoxyethyl) acrylate-block-n-butyl acrylate) at 20 L scale (conversion 96%, Đ = 1.26), which highlights the strong potential for industrial applications.
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