Assembly of a visible light photoreactor: an inexpensive tool for bottlebrush polymer synthesis via photoiniferter polymerization

Here we report the design of a simple, inexpensive photoreactor for photoiniferter polymerization of vinyl monomers mediated by thiocarbonylthio compounds. A trithiocarbonate photoiniferter activated by blue light allowed for the synthesis of homopolymers and block copolymers of acrylates, acrylamides, and styrenics with controllable molar mass(es) and low dispersities. Furthermore, this approach enabled the synthesis of bottlebrush polymers by both the grafting-through and grafting-from strategies.