Metal Polyphenol Network Enables Photo‐ATRP Under Blue Light
Yongkang Pang, Min Wang, Sarah Fasbender, Martin Jäger, Bernd Strehmel, Zhonghua Tang, Xiongfei LuoABSTRACT
Photo‐ATRP commonly relies on petrochemical‐derived ligands and copper‐based catalytic systems, which is misaligned with green‐chemistry principles. Here, 4‐hydroxychalcone is used as a building block and functionalized amino groups through a Mannich reaction, then self‐assembled with FeBr 3 to form a metal‐polyphenol network (MPN). Under 420 nm visible‐light irradiation, the MPN effectively mediates photo‐ATRP, reaching a maximum monomer conversion of 67.4%. The resulting polymers exhibit a dispersity of Đ < 1.5, with values down to 1.3, indicating a certain control of polymerization. Using the PMMA ‐Br macroinitiator, synthesis of block copolymers comprising methyl methacrylate ( MMA ), benzyl methacrylate ( BMA ), and styrene ( St ) successfully succeeded. Notably, polymers exhibiting a dispersity of Đ < 1.5 were obtained even without degassing, while chain‐end fidelity was available. In addition, a FeCl 3 ‐catalyzed photo‐ATRP system is demonstrated. Overall, this work provides an operationally simple approach to light‐controlled radical polymerization using Fe catalysts with bio‐based ligands.