Polyethylene and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) star polymers by iodine transfer polymerization

Iodine transfer (co)polymerization (ITP) was employed to form polyethylene (PE) and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA). ITPs were conducted at 80 bar pressure of ethylene in dimethylcarbonate (DMC) at 70 degrees C using tri-and tetra-iodofunctionalized chain transfer agents (CTAs) leading to secondary reinitiating radicals. To better comprehend their behaviour, a full study was undertaken to compare the kinetics, the structures of the final polymer and the molar mass control obtained when using analogous iodo and di-iodo CTAs leading to the same secondary reinitiating radials. Well-defined linear PEs carrying one or two iodo chain ends could be formed together with three-and four-arm star PE. The possibility to cleave each arm of the corresponding star structures allowed to show good control of the polymerizations. The transposition to the copolymerization of ethylene and vinyl acetate led to the formation of well-defined four arm star EVA.

Automated summary

In this study, iodine transfer (co)polymerization (ITP) was used to synthesize polyethylene (PE) and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) (EVA) by employing tri- and tetra-iodofunctionalized chain transfer agents (CTAs) to generate secondary reinitiating radicals. The results showed that well-defined linear PEs with one or two iodo chain ends, as well as three- and four-arm star PE, can be obtained with good control of the polymerization. Furthermore, the copolymerization of ethylene and vinyl acetate led to the formation of well-defined four-arm star EVA.