Synthesis of chlorinated polypropylene grafted poly(methyl methacrylate) using chlorinated polypropylene as macro-initiator via atom transfer radical polymerization and its application in lithium ion battery

• ATRP can be initiated by CPP to prepare CPP-g-PMMA.
• AlCl3 plays an important role in the controllable polymerization.
• The graft PMMA enhanced electrochemical performance.

Chlorinated polypropylene grafted poly(methyl methacrylate) (CPP-g-PMMA) was successfully synthesized using AlCl3/FeCl2·4H2O/triphenylphosphine (PPh3) as catalyst and CPP as macro-initiator for the first time. Kinetics study revealed that the grafting reaction was consistent with the characteristic of atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The effect of AlCl3, as activator on the ATRP of MMA, was investigated and a possible polymerization mechanism was proposed. Finally, the CPP-g-PMMA membranes were assembled into batteries. The ionic conductivity and charge–discharge capacity of the membranes were investigated. It was found that the electrochemical performance of the graft products was better than that of CPP, which can be ascribed to the graft PMMA.