ZnO as photocatalyst for photoinduced electron transfer-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer of methyl methacrylate

In this article, photoinduced electron transfer-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (PET-RAFT) polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was investigated at moderate temperature in N,N-dimethylformamide with ZnO as photocatalyst. The polymerization has a living characteristic: a linear increase in molecular weight (M-n,M-GPC), good agreement between experimental (M-n,M-GPC) and theoretical molecular weights (M-n,M-th), a decrease in molecular weight distribution (M-w/M-n) with increasing monomer conversion, and chain extension. The PET-RAFT polymerization of MMA can be regulated by switching ON and OFF the light.