Initiating radical polymerization at room temperature: Why and How?

Abstract

The energy consumption of high-temperature radical polymerizations affects the environment and human health. This review summarizes methods for initiating radical polymerization at room temperature (20–40 °C), including thermal initiation, redox initiation, interface initiation, enzymic initiation, photo initiation, and metal-mediated initiation. The energy demands for the polymerizations initiated at different temperatures were estimated. In addition to being eco-friendly, room-temperature polymerization also showed advantages in reaction safety, polymer structural control, and bio-related applications. Conducting polymerization at room temperature can be beneficial for green materials and sustainable industrial applications.