Recent advances in ATRP methods in relation to the synthesis of copolymer coating materials

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is currently one of the most often used synthetic polymerization methods to prepare well-defined copolymers with complex architecture. This review covers some fundamentals of ATRP, presents new ATRP initiating processes with ppm amounts of copper catalysts and various reducing agents together with recent developed electrochemically controlled ATRP, as well as discusses ATRP enables to precise control over macromolecular structure, order, and functionality. Moreover, this review briefly describes some of the copolymer coating materials that can now be prepared e.g., protective coatings with increased hydrophobicity, functional bioactive surfaces and functional biomaterials, as well as highlights some of the commercialization efforts currently underway. The research activities in the last decade indicate that ATRP has become an essential tool for the design and synthesis of advanced, noble and novel copolymer coatings.