Photoinduced controlled/'living' polymerization of methyl methacrylate with flavone as photoinitiator.

ABSTRACT Photochemically mediated controlled/'living' polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) triggered by flavone was studied. The polymerization was performed in ethanol at ambient temperature with CuBr₂/Tris(2-dimethylaminoethyl)amine (Me₆TREN) as complex catalyst and ethyl 2-bromoisobutyrate (EBiB) as initiator. The molar mass of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was obtained and exhibited relatively narrow molecular weight distribution ( M_w/ M_n) which was characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). Chain extension further indicated that the living nature was maintained in the photopolymerization system. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43845. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]