Controlled And Living Polymerizations

Written by a highly prestigious and knowledgeable team of top scientists in the field, this book provides an overview of the current status of controlled/living polymerization, combining the synthetic, mechanistic and application-oriented aspects. From the contents: * Anionic Vinyl Polymerization * Carbocationic Polymerization * Radical Polymerization * Coordinative Polymerization of Olefins * Ring-Opening Polymerization of Heterocycles * Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization * Macromolecular Architectures * Complex Functional Macromolecules * Synthesis of Block and Graft Copolymers * Bulk and Solution Structures of Block Copolymers * Industrial Applications While some of the material is based on chapters taken from the four-volume work "Macromolecular Engineering", it is completely updated and rewritten to reflect the focus of this monograph. Must-have knowledge for polymer and organic chemists, plastics technologists, materials scientists and chemical engineers.

Written by a highly prestigious and knowledgeable team of top scientists in the field, this book provides an overview of the current status of controlled/living polymerization, combining the synthetic, mechanistic and application-oriented aspects. From the contents: * Anionic Vinyl Polymerization * Carbocationic Polymerization * Radical Polymerization * Coordinative Polymerization of Olefins * Ring-Opening Polymerization of Heterocycles * Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization * Macromolecular Architectures * Complex Functional Macromolecules * Synthesis of Block and Graft Copolymers * Bulk and Solution Structures of Block Copolymers * Industrial Applications While some of the material is based on chapters taken from the four-volume work "Macromolecular Engineering", it is completely updated and rewritten to reflect the focus of this monograph. Must-have knowledge for polymer and organic chemists, plastics technologists, materials scientists and chemical engineers.

Recent progress in the field of controlled/living radical polymerization.

Provides an in-depth history, description, and mechanistic understanding of each of the controlled/living radical polymerization techniques and practical details necessary to carry out the reactions.

The living/controlled polymerisation techniques opened new vistas in polymer chemistry. The leading authorities in this field and its pioneers contributed chapters to this collective volume. The controlled polymerisation techniques have enabled preparation of polymers, copolymers, and block copolymers with predetermined molecular weights and narrow polydispersity, in which functional groups or biologically active molecules could be placed at well defined locations. They have also enabled preparation of advanced polymeric structures with precisely determined architectures and improved properties. Moreover, they have provided opportunities for preparation of novel polymeric materials from monomers, which before have not been suitable or accessible for such purposes. Properties of some of these polymeric materials may be significantly different from those of the existing ones. They provide opportunities for new applications. Several patents have already been approved for such speciality applications as, drug delivery, biocompatible surfaces, thermoplastic elastomers, moisture curable sealants, and so on. Many more products, based on polymers fabricated by the living/ controlled polymerisation techniques, will certainly emerge in such specialised areas as, nanotechnology, medical devices, "smart polymers", sensors , smart separation technologies, optical fibres and other optical applications, various biomaterials, etc.

Over the last twenty years, the field of the chemistry of polymerization witnessed enormous growth through the development of new concepts, catalysts, processes etc. Examples are: non classical living polymerizations (group transfer polymerization, living carbocationic polymerization, living radical polymerization and living ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP)); new catalysts (metallocenes and late transition metal catalysts for stereospecific polymerization, Schrock and Grubbs catalyst for ROMP among others) and new processes such as miniemulsion, microemulsion polymerization and dispersion polymerization (in polar solvents). Apart from the developments in the chemistry of polymerization, methods have been developed for the evaluation of highly reliable rate constants of propagation in radical as well as cationic polymerization. All these have revolutionized the field of synthetic polymer chemistry. In the book, fundamentals of both the new and old polymerization chemistry have been dealt with. The new chemistry has been given nearly equal space along with the old.

The design and the realisation of well defined polymer architectures has become an important goal in macromolecular science. The prerequisite for achieving this goal is the availability of controlled polymerisation reactions. Living anionic polymerisation was the first reaction fulfilling these requirements. Cationic polymerisation only came into play when it was realised that it was possible to create an equilibrium between active and dormant species with the fraction of the dormant species being far superior to that of active ones. A corresponding principle applies to controlled radical polymerisation per formed in quite a number of modes such as nitroxide mediated polymerisation (NMP), atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP), reversible addition frag mentation chain transfer (RAFT) or catalytic chain transfer (CCT) reactions. All of these variants of controlled radical polymerisation lead to well defined archi tectures with the particular advantage that a much larger number of monomers are suitable and the reaction conditions are much less demanding than those of living ionic polymerisation reactions. Although in controlled radical polymerisation, termination reactions cannot be excluded completely, they are limited in their extent and consequently the mol ecular weight is controlled, the polydispersity index is small and functionalities can be attached to the macromolecules. These features are indicative of the real isation of well defined polymer architectures such as block copolymers, star shaped and comb shaped copolymers.

Advances in Controlled/Living Radical Polymerization presents new developments in controlled/living radical polymerization in three areas: atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), nitroxide mediated polymerization (NMP), and reversible addition-fragmentation transfer (RAFT). This book also includes synthesis and characterization of many new materials.