Studies on Photoinduced ATRP in the Presence of Photoinitiator

Photoinduced reverse and simultaneous reverse and normal initiation (SR&NI) atom transfer radical polymerizations (ATRPs) of methyl methacrylate are investigated. The type and concentration of photoinitiators directly influences the photoinduced reverse ATRP. Although the polymerization can be initiated in the absence of alkyl halide, loss of control over the polymerization process is observed. The photoinduced SR&NI ATRP proceed in a well-controlled manner under UV light at room temperature, as is evident in kinetic and chain extension studies. Better agreement between the experimental and theoretical molecular weights with a narrow molecular weight distribution is observed with photoinduced SR&NI ATRP system.