%0 Journal Article
%T Open-to-Air RAFT Polymerization in Complex Solvents: From Whisky to Fermentation Broth
%J -
%D 2018
%R https://doi.org/10.1021/acsmacrolett.8b00069
%X We investigate the use of in situ enzyme degassing to facilitate the open-to-air reversible addition¨Cfragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) in a wide range of complex aqueous solvents, including, beer, wine, liquor, and fermentation broth. This enzyme-assisted polymerization procedure is impressively robust, and poly(HEA) was attained with good control over molecular weight and a narrow dispersity in nearly all of the solvents tested. Kinetics experiments on HEA polymerization in whisky and spectroscopic analysis of the purified polymers suggest high end-group fidelity, as does the successful chain extension of a poly(HEA) macro chain transfer agent with narrow dispersity. These results suggest enzyme-assisted RAFT may be a powerful and underutilized tool for high-throughput screening and materials discovery and may simplify the synthesis of well-defined polymers in complex conditions
%U https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsmacrolett.8b00069