Microwave‐Accelerated RAFT Polymerization of Polar Monomers

A monomodal microwave reactor has been employed, for the first time, for the RAFT‐mediated polymerization of methyl acrylate (MA), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and styrene. At comparable temperatures, and a uniform power output of between 1 and 3 Watts, the microwave outperformed the oil bath in terms of polymerization rate for both MA and MMA, showing rate enhancements of up to 152% and 254% for the two monomers respectively, when compared to conventional heating. Furthermore, the control appears unaffected by the rate increase, yielding low polydispersities (PDIs) (as low as 1.05) and molecular‐weight values close to predicted values. Interestingly, however, the polymerization rate of styrene ‐ a nonpolar monomer ‐ does not seem to be enhanced by the use of microwave heating. magnified image