Copper(ii) gluconate (a non-toxic food supplement/dietary aid) as a precursor catalyst for effective photo-induced living radical polymerisation of acrylates

Abstract

Copper gluconate, is employed as a precursor catalyst for the photo-induced living radical polymerisation of acrylates. Optimised reaction conditions for efficient ligand transfer leads to well-defined polymers within 2 h with near quantitative conversions (>95%), low dispersities (Đ ∼ 1.16) and high end-group fidelity, as demonstrated by MALDI-ToF-MS. Additionally, in the presence of ppm concentrations of NaBr, similar degree of control could also be attained by facilitating ligand exchange, furnishing narrow dispersed polymers (Đ < 1.12).