P–O codoped g-C3N4/poly(aniline) as heterogeneous photocatalyst for PET-RAFT polymerization
摘要
Photo-induced living radical polymerization offers several advantages, including a broad range of polymerizable monomers, high design flexibility of polymer structures, cost-effective and readily accessible catalysts, mild and controllable polymerization conditions, and high polymerization efficiency. In this work, P–O codoped g-C3N4/poly(aniline) composite was prepared as an efficient heterogeneous photocatalyst. Then, the photoinduced electron transfer reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (PET-RAFT) polymerization of methyl methacrylate was investigated at 25 °C in N,N-dimethylformamide, utilizing 4-cyanopentanoic acid dithiobenzoate (CPADB) as chain transfer agent and photocatalyst of P–O codoped g-C3N4/PANI composite. Poly(methyl methacrylate)s (PMMAs) were synthesized using the PET-RAFT polymerizations with controlled molecular weight (Mn,exp) and narrow molecular weight distribution (Mw/Mn). Kinetic analyses revealed that the polymerization adhered to first-order kinetic. The effects of the amount of photocatalyst and concentrations of CPADB and monomer were investigated on the polymerization. It was observed that the induction period decreased with increasing the amount of photocatalyst. A periodic light-on/off protocol was employed to investigate the polymerization’s dependency on light, revealing that the activation and deactivation steps were regulated by light exposure. PMMAs synthesized via the PET-RAFT polymerization system can be further treated with monomers to achieve chain extension, thereby forming block copolymers.
Graphical abstract