Binary Living Radical Polymerization of Dual Concurrent ATRP-RAFT

The development of living radical polymerization (LRP) methods has served as one of the most remarkable milestones for polymer chemistry. Independent LRP method requires specific conditions, catalysts, and monomers, which fits certain scenes, while it is unfit for others. While the combination of different methods integrates the advantages of various LRP methods, not all methods could be combined directly due to the complexity of the mutual influence between them. To overcome this, we established a criterion that could tell whether a combination of LRP methods was effective or not. With the help of this criterion, the dual concurrent ATRP-RAFT was constructed by the combination of ICAR-ATRP and RAFT. The binary LRP method allowed for (1) the expansion of monomer range for RAFT; (2) the reduction of Cu^II loading for ICAR-ATRP; (3) the enhanced control of dispersity. We believe that this research provides a different route for the development of the LRP methods.