Chain transfer kinetics of acid/base switchable n-aryl- n-pyridyl dithiocarbamate RAFT agents in methyl acrylate, n-vinylcarbazole and vinyl acetate polymerization

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by American Chemistry Society in Macromolecules on 14/05/2012, available online: https://doi.org/10.1021/ma300616g ©American Chemical Society. The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version.The structures of the "Z" and "R" substituents of a RAFT agent (Z-C(S)S-R) determine a RAFT agent's ability to control radical polymerization. In this paper we report new acid/base switchable N-aryl-N-pyridyl dithiocarbamates (R = -CH 2CN, Z = -N(Py)(Ar)) which vary in substituent at the 4-position of the aryl ring and the use of these to control molecular weight and dispersity. In their protonated form, the new RAFT agents are more effective in controlling polymerization of the more activated monomer, methyl acrylate (MA), whereas in their neutral form they provide more effective control of the polymerization of less activated monomers, N-vinyl carbazole (NVC) and vinyl acetate (VAc). For each polymerization, the apparent chain transfer coefficient (C trapp) shows a good correlation with Hammett parameters. Dithiocarbamates with more electron-withdrawing aryl ring substituents have the higher C trapp. This demonstrates the influence of polar effects on C trapp and supports the hypothesis that the activity of these RAFT agents is determined by the availability of the lone pair of the dithiocarbamate nitrogen.The authors gratefully acknowledge the Capability Development Fund of CSIRO Materials Science and Engineering for financial support.Published versio

Synthesis and photoresponsive behavior of optically active methacrylic homopolymers containing side-chain spiropyran chromophores

Novel optically-active methacrylic homopolymers bearing in the side chain one or more chiral groups of one single configuration (based on the L-lactic acid residue) linked to the spiropyran chromophore, have been successfully synthesized and fully characterized. These intrinsically chiral polymers exhibit remarkable thermal stability, with glass transition temperatures in the range 100–130 C and decomposition temperatures around 270 C. The chiroptical characterization indicates the occurrence of asymmetric induction on the electronic transitions of the side-chain chromophore related to the number of L-lactic acid residues interposed between the main chain and the spiropyran chromophore. In the presence of acid, these systems can be used to modulate the protonation of polymeric azopyridine moieties upon photoisomerization of the spiropyran group. In addition to UV–Vis spectroscopy, the proton transfer process occurring between the macromolecular components can be also followed by CD spectroscopy, the system thus behaving as a chiroptical switch