Controlled nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization of styrene, styrene/acrylonitrile mixtures, and dienes using a nitrone

Radical polymerization of styrene and copolymerization of styrene and acrylonitrile (60/40) are controlled when conducted in the presence of N-tert-butyl-alpha-isopropylnitrone, which is easily synthesized from cheap reagents. However, for the control to be effective, the nitrone has to be prereacted with the radical initiator. Nitroxides are then formed "in situ", such that this nitrone system is an attractive alternative for the classical nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP), which may require a multistep synthesis of nitroxides or alkoxyamines. The choice of the radical initiator is important because it dictates the structure of the nitroxide and thus its capacity to control the radical polymerization. Well-defined poly(styrene)-b-poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile), poly(styrene)-b-poly(n-butyl acrylate), and poly(styrene)-b-poly(isoprene) copolymers have been successfully synthesized by this process.