Physicochemical characterization of poly( tert-butyl acrylate- b-methyl methacrylate) prepared with atom transfer radical polymerization by inverse gas chromatography

Poly( tert-butyl acrylate) (P tBuA) was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using methyl-2-bromo propionate (MBP) as an initiator in bulk at 80 °C. The successive ATRP of methyl methacrylate in diphenyl ether at 80 °C using previously obtained P tBuA as a macroinitiator led to formation of poly( tert-butyl acrylate- b-methyl methacrylate) (poly( tBuA- b-MMA)). The synthesized macroinitiator and block copolymer have controlled molecular weight and low polydispersity ( M w/ M n