Control of the radical polymerization of tert-butyl methacrylate in water by a novel combination of sodium nitrite and iron(II) sulfate

Addition of iron(II) sulfate to sodium nitrite is a new way to control the radical polymerization of tert-butyl methacrylate (tBMA) in water at 80 degreesC. Nitric oxide is released in the reaction medium as result of the reduction of sodium nitrite by FeSO4. This reaction is of utmost importance because three repeated additions of an alkyl radical to nitric oxide leads to the formation of nitroxide radicals. The basic mechanism for the control of the radical polymerization is thus a nitroxide-mediated process.