Synergistic Effects of Compartmentalization and Nitroxide Exit/Entry in Nitroxide-Mediated Radical Polymerization in Dispersed Systems

Modeling and simulations of compartmentalization effects in tandem with nitroxide exit and entry have been performed for the nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization (NMP) of styrene in an aqueous dispersed system employing 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxy (TEMPO) at 125 degrees C. It is demonstrated that, even for a relatively water-insoluble nitroxide like TEMPO, exit and entry can strongly influence the polymerization kinetics in submicrometer-size droplets/particles. In such systems, the polymerization is expected to proceed at a markedly higher rate than the corresponding bulk system at the expense of control/livingness. Depending on the deactivator water solubility, these findings will apply qualitatively to all controlled/living radical polymerization systems governed by the persistent radical effect [e.g., NMP and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP)].