Living radical polymerizations with organic catalysts

This paper introduces two new families of living radical polymerizations with organic catalysts that we recently developed. They are based on new reversible activation mechanisms: reversible chain transfer and reversible complex formation. Low-polydispersity polymers are obtained in the homopolymerizations and random and block copolymerizations of several (functional) monomers, i.e., styrenes, methacrylates, and acrylonitrile. The catalysts are germanium (Ge), phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), and carbon (C)-centered organic molecules. Attractive features of the catalysts include their high reactivity, low toxicity, cheapness, and ease of handling. The background, performance, and kinetic features of the polymerizations are described in the paper.