Surface-initiated reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization of chloroprene and mechanical properties of matrix-free polychloroprene nanocomposites

摘要

AbstractRAFT polymerization and surface-initiated RAFT polymerization (SI-RAFT) of chloroprene was studied. The SI-RAFT polymerization rate of chloroprene was found to be slower than free solution RAFT polymerization, and further regulated by the graft density of grafted polymers. The resulting polychloroprene-grafted silica nanoparticles were directly crosslinked to obtain matrix-free polychloroprene nanocomposites that showed good nanoparticle dispersion and superior mechanical properties compared with unfilled polychloroprene rubber.Graphical abstractDisplay OmittedHighlights?Chloroprene has been graft polymerized from silica nanoparticles using RAFT polymerization.?The polymerization kinetics of chloroprene from nanoparticles is slower than free solution polymerization.