Atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene initiated by 2-(4-chloromethyl-phenyl)-benzoxazole with high activity and fluorescent property

Functionalized polystyrene (PSt) was synthesized utilizing atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), which was conducted by using 2-(4-chloromethyl-phenyl)-benzoxazole (CMPB) as initiator, CuCl/PMDETA as catalyst, and cyclohexanone as solvent. The mechanism of ATRP was proved by characterizing the structure of PSt via 1H NMR and preparing of PSt-b-PMMA block copolymer. The polymerization showed first order with respect to monomer concentration and relatively narrow polydispersity (Mw/Mn range from 1.30 to 1.50). Factors such as different reaction temperatures, mole ratio of monomer to initiator and so on, which can affect the ATRP system, were discussed in the paper. Moreover, CMPB showed high activity and could initiate styrene polymerization even at ambient temperature. The optical property of initiator was well preserved in the obtained PSt, and the end-functionalized PSt exhibited strong fluorescent emission at 351 nm.