Journal
POLYMER CHEMISTRY
Volume 12, Issue 35, Pages 5106-5116Publisher
ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY
DOI: 10.1039/d1py00705j
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Funding
- NSF [CHE-1757967, CHE-1821863]
- Rice University
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By utilizing thiol ligand capped CdSe quantum dots at low concentrations, we achieved rapid visible-light-induced radical polymerization in aqueous media, showcasing excellent oxygen tolerance and broad applications potential.
We report here a rapid visible-light-induced radical polymerization in aqueous media photoinitiated by only ppm level thiol ligand capped cadmium selenide (CdSe) quantum dots (QDs). Simple ligand exchange procedures with various bifunctional thiol ligands facilitate the dispersion of CdSe QDs in water, thus expanding the scope of aqueous photocatalysts. The polymerization showcased excellent oxygen tolerance, giving a low dispersity (D) of 1.27. Additive thiol molecules were proposed to act as the coinitiating species, oxidized by photoexcited CdSe QDs to form thiyl radicals and further initiate the polymerization. More importantly, successful thiol-ene click reactions were achieved by scaling up the thiol to olefin ratio to 1, suggesting the thiol ligand coinitiating mechanism and meanwhile demonstrating the great potential of QD photocatalysts in organic transformations. Furthermore, the photoinitiation system using CdSe QDs could be readily employed for photo 3D printing of photocurable resin poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylates, opening up vast opportunities for fabricating advanced polymer-inorganic hybrid materials.
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