Photocatalyzed Cu-based ATRP involving an oxidative quenching mechanism under visible light
Résumé
A new type of photocatalyzed Cu-based atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is described, involving directly the light absorption of the activator form of the copper complex Cu(I). The selected catalyst was bis(1,10-phenanthroline)copper(I), Cu(phen)2+, due to its intense absorption in the visible domain, which permitted to use very soft irradiation conditions, consisting of a simple household blue LED at 0.9 W. An excellent control over the polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in dimethylformamide (DMF) was observed under irradiation in these conditions, using ethyl α-bromophenylacetate (EBPA) as the initiator, with polydispersity indexes (PDI) as low as 1.10 while using low catalyst content (80 ppm). The proposed mechanism implies first the formation under irradiation of the excited state of the activator form of the complex Cu(I)*. It can then rapidly undergo the oxidative quenching of the alkyl bromide, which results in its conversion into the deactivator form of the complex Cu(II)–Br along with the generation of a propagating radical. The setting up of the ATRP equilibrium ensues. Additionally, it was possible to complete the catalysis mechanism by adding triethylamine (TEA), which permitted a faster polymerization, thanks to a faster regeneration of the activator Cu(I). An excellent control over the polymerization was also observed in the presence of TEA, with PDI as low as 1.06. The addition of TEA allowed also to use a catalyst loading as low as 20 ppm, while maintaining a good controllability.