Photothermally-driven cobalt catalysed atom transfer radical polymerisation enables isocyanide copolymer synthesis

Abstract

Design and synthesis of degradable polymers is a burgeoning area of research to combat plastic waste buildup. Here, a cobalt-catalysed atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP) turned on by photothermal conversion is used to synthesize photodegradable non-alternating acrylate-isocyanide copolymers. A simple one-step protocol enables control over copolymerisation with good chain-end fidelity under mild conditions. Although fundamentally a ground state reaction, we demonstrate temporal control via a unique localized heating strategy. Lastly, we demonstrate the advantage of this polymerisation compared to more traditional ATRP protocols.

Graphical abstract: Photothermally-driven cobalt catalysed atom transfer radical polymerisation enables isocyanide copolymer synthesis

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
28 Apr 2025
Accepted
23 May 2025
First published
30 May 2025
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Polym. Chem., 2025, Advance Article

Photothermally-driven cobalt catalysed atom transfer radical polymerisation enables isocyanide copolymer synthesis

C. Preston-Herrera and E. E. Stache, Polym. Chem., 2025, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D5PY00422E

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