Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is a versatile, metal-mediated method of producing polymers with controlled compositions and molecular weights. Control is attained through the equilibrium between the active radical chain-end state and a dormant state, established by the reduction-oxidation cycling of the metal catalyst. Ligand structure has been shown previously to strongly impact the catalysts’ activity and ability to control the polymerization, and polydentate ligands of amine and pyridine donor moieties have produced some of the most active ATRP catalysts. In this work, a series of closely related copper(I) and copper(II) bromide complexes of tridentate and tetradentate heterocyclic-amine ligands were synthesized and characterized, and their utility in the ATRP of styrene explored. We examined how differences in ligand structure affected the redox potential and structure of the complexes, and how these properties in turn impacted the efficiency of the ATRP of styrene.

Ligand donor effects in copper(I) and copper(II) complexes of polydentate heteroaromatic-amine ligands in the ATRP of styrene

249th National Meeting (2015)

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