Synthesis of polyacrylonitrile via ARGET ATRP using CCl 4 as initiator

Activators regenerated by electron transfer (ARGET) for atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of acrylonitrile (AN) was investigated using carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) as initiator, ferric trichloride anhydracs (FeCl 3 )/iminodiacetic acid (IDA) as catalyst system, L ‐ascorbic acid (VC) as reducing agent, and N,N ‐dimethylformamide (DMF) as solvent. Kinetic data of polymerization demonstrated the features of living/controlled free‐radical polymerization. The conversion of AN increased with the increasing concentration of CCl 4 , [FeCl 3 ]/[IDA] catalyst system and VC. The molecular weight decreased with the increasing concentration of CCl 4 , [FeCl 3 ]/[IDA] catalyst system and VC. The value of polydispersity index (PDI) increased with the increasing concentration of [FeCl 3 ]/[IDA] catalyst system and VC, while the value of PDI decreased first and then increased with the increasing concentration of CCl 4 and IDA. 1 H‐NMR spectra of PAN further verified the features of living/controlled free radical polymerization of AN. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010