Controlled nitroxide-mediated and reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization of N-vinylpyrrolidone: Synthesis of block copolymers with styrene and 2-vinylpyridine
An approach to control the polymerization of N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) with nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP) and reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization techniques was analyzed. The polymerizations were conducted at 95 °C to avoid the thermal decomposition of the monomer, in presence of acetic anhydride. Three different chain-transfer agents (CTA) were employed under various experimental conditions for the RAFT polymerization of NVP. The living character of the poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PNVP) chains produced by RAFT polymerization was confirmed by the synthesis of block copolymers by the sequential addition of another monomer
