Hemicellulose-based multifunctional macroinitiator for single-electron-transfer mediated living radical polymerization.

A multifunctional macroinitiator for single-electron-transfer mediated living radical polymerization (SET-LRP) was designed from acetylated galactoglucomannan (AcGGM) by α-bromoisobutyric acid functionalization of the anomeric hydroxyl groups on the heteropolysaccharide backbone. This macroinitiator, with a degree of substitution of 0.15, was used in the SET-LRP of methyl acrylate, catalyzed by Cu(0)/Me(6)-TREN in DMSO, DMF, or DMSO/H(2)O in various concentrations. Kinetic analyses confirm high conversions of up to 99.98% and a living behavior of the SET-LRP process providing high molecular weight hemicelluloses/methyl acrylate hybrid copolymers with a brush-like architecture.