Synthesis of Poly(vinyl acetate) Nanogels by Xanthate-Mediated Radical Crosslinking Copolymerization
Résumé
Poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) nanogels are synthesized by a radical crosslinking copolymerization (RCC) in solution of vinyl acetate and divinyl adipate (DVA) or 2,4,6-tris(allyloxy)-1,3,5-triazine (TAT) as the crosslinker, in the presence of a xanthate as a reversible chain transfer agent. Higher concentrations of crosslinker and lower concentrations of xanthate produce PVAc nanogels of higher molar masses, for a given concentration of xanthate and for a fixed concentration of crosslinker, respectively. The xanthate end-groups allow for the synthesis of 'second generation' nonogels through a subsequent RCC from precursors. The chemical cleavage of the crosslinks yields individual poly(vinyl alcohol) chains, which attests that the length of the constitutive chains is controlled by the xanthate.