Synthesis of star-shaped polystyrene by atom transfer radical polymerization using an 'arm first' approach

摘要

Star-shaped polystyrenes were prepared by the coupling of polystyrene macroinitiators in the presence of divinylbenzene using copper-mediated ATRP. The yield of star polymers was ca. 85-90%. However, the presence of PSt macroinitiator in the final product indicated that the 'arm first' technique is not a very efficient method for the synthesis of star polymers by ATRP under the reaction conditions investigated. Several factors pertinent to star formation were studied and used to optimize the star formation process.