title: Sustainable Electrochemically-Mediated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization with Inexpensive Non-Platinum Electrodes.
abstract: Electrochemically-mediated atom transfer radical polymerization (eATRP) of oligo(ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate in water is investigated on glassy carbon, Au, Ti, Ni, NiCr and SS304. eATRPs are performed both in divided and undivided electrochemical cells operating under either potentiostatic or galvanostatic mode. The reaction is fast, reaching high conversions in ≈4 h, and yields polymers with dispersity <1.2 and molecular weights close to the theoretical values. Most importantly, eATRP in a highly simplified setup (undivided cell under galvanostatic mode) with inexpensive nonnoble metals, such as NiCr and SS304, as cathode is well-controlled. Additionally, these electrodes neither release harmful ions in solution nor react directly with the CX chain end and can be reused several times. It is demonstrated that Pt can be replaced with cheaper, and more readily available materials without negatively affecting eATRP performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131, Padova, Italy.|Center for Molecular Engineering, Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, 4400 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fantin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lorandi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Abdirisak A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Isse
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131, Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gennaro
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D002858:Chromium Alloys / Q000737:chemistry*; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004566:Electrodes; D005027:Ethylene Oxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000737:chemistry; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000737:chemistry*; D058105:Polymerization
chemical_list: D002858:Chromium Alloys; D005609:Free Radicals; D008689:Methacrylates; D002244:Carbon; D005027:Ethylene Oxide
keywords: atom transfer radical polymerization; cathodic materials; electrochemistry; polymerization; sacrificial anode