Iron and copper based catalysts containing anionic phenolate ligands for atom transfer radical polymerization

Iron and copper complexes with anionic phenolate-bis(pyridyl)amine ligands were synthesized and examined as catalysts for atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of methyl (meth)acrylate and styrene. With copper complexes, polymers with narrow molecular weight distributions, M w / M n ~1.2, were prepared. The catalytic performance of copper catalysts was affected by nature of halogen species and by the steric and electronic effects. In iron-mediated ATRP procedures, the number-average molecular weights of the polymers increased with monomer conversion, however, the molecular weight distributions of the resulting polymers were relatively broad M w / M n ~1.7, due to slow deactivation processes.