Controlled radical polymerization of alkyl acrylates in the presence of the tri-n-butylborane–p-quinone system

Abstract

The reactivities of different p-quinones in the radical polymerization of methyl and tert-butyl acrylates were studied. The inhibitory effect of p-quinones decreases witn an increase in the volume and number of substituents. The radical polymerization of alkyl acrylates in the presence of tri-n-butylborane and p-quinones proceeds without gel effect by the “living” polymerization mechanism. UV spectroscopy showed that the reaction between the growth radical and p-quinone proceeds with different regioselectivity and depends on the nature of the latter. The obtained polyacrylates possess the capability of reinitiating polymerization. The reinitiation mechanism was studied by mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) and ESR spectroscopy. Gel permeation chromatography showed that, depending on the nature of p-quinone, macroinitiator polymers exhibit different activity in post-polymerization.