Cu(0)-mediated RDRP as new alternative for controlled synthesis of poly(pentafluorophenyl methacrylate)

The present work addresses for the first time the controlled synthesis of poly(pentafluorophenyl methacrylate) (PPFPMA) using Cu(0)-mediated reversible deactivation radical polymerization (Cu(0)-mediated RDRP). The influences of several components like ligand, initiator, and solvent are examined and discussed in details to deduce the best-found condition to synthesize PPFPMA with low dispersity (1.05–1.33) in a wide range of molecular weight (6000 g mol−1 to 129 000 g mol−1). The polymerization under the best-found condition shows controlled polymerization features with no induction period, linear first-order kinetics, and linear correlation in monomer conversion. In addition, the chain-end fidelity of polymer obtained by found-optimized conditions is also investigated by various techniques including 1H NMR, MALDI-ToF, and chain extension experiments.