Controlled Architecture Polymers at Arkema: Synthesis, Morphology and Properties of All-Acrylic Block Copolymers

摘要

Over the past decade, Arkema has developed a controlled radical polymerization (CRP) technology that facilitates the production of materials with highly controlled architecture, such as block copolymers, using standard free radical polymerization techniques. The CRP technique based on NMP (Nitroxide Mediated Polymerisation) currently constitutes a remarkable tool for the design of compounds with different architectures and compositions: functionalised macromolecules, block copolymers, grafted copolymers, gradient copolymers, hybrid organic/inorganic systems, hyper-branched polymers, star polymers, polymer brushes, etc. The potential CRP products of immediate commercial impact are dominated by block copolymers, due to their ability to form nanostructured objects in solution or in solid state. Examples of possible uses are the encapsulation and release of active compounds, oil and lubricant modification, the stabilization of dispersion (cosmetic, inks, paints and mineral content, etc.), microelectronics, composites, the modification of surface properties (in the adhesives sector), the modification of mass properties in polymers (toughness, improvement of optical qualities) and in elastomers, etc.