Research Article
Hadi S. Al-Lami, Baqer A. A
Abstract
Over the recent few years, mechanistic developments in the field of Controlled “Living” Radical Polymerization (CRP) are reviewed, and have undergone notable development and has become one of the most capable and vigorous synthetic methods in modern polymer chemistry [1]. CRP is interesting from both scientific and industrial viewpoints, as the discovery of these reactions opened up a whole new world of possibilities regarding the design of novel polymeric architectures and compositions [2]. CRP means that a polymerization reaction, where no unwanted side reaction such as transfer or termination takes place, and where all polymer chains initiate simultaneously. Thus, the growing ends of the polymer chains are active indefinitely, and an ideal living system should yield polymers with predetermined molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution (Polydispersity Index, PDI = Mw/Mn) close to unity.