Photo-induced atom transfer radical polymerization in ionic liquid

The photo-induced atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was successfully carried out in ionic liquid at ambient temperature with ethyl 2-bromoisobutyrate as initiator and CuBr2/N, N, N', N '', N.-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine as the complex catalyst system. In this system, TiO2 was used as photocatalyst. The well-controlled poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was obtained, as evidenced by the controlled molecular weights of the obtained. The prepared PMMA had narrow molecular weight distributions. The polymerizations were manipulated by turning on/off the light. The chemical structure of the obtained PMMA was characterized by H-1 NMR. Chain extension experiment with bromine-atom-ended PMMA as macroinitiator was carried out successfully to verify the living nature of photo-induced ATRP of MMA.