Visible light-induced metal-free atom transfer radical polymerization: An efficient approach to polyacrylonitrile

A visible light-induced metal-free atom transfer radical polymerization strategy for the efficient synthesis of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with predictable molecular weights and low dispersities has been developed. High conversions can be obtained by using commercially available organic dyes as the photocatalysts under mild conditions in a living/controlled manner. Moreover, PAN can be obtained with moderate conversion under the irradiation of sunlight.