Preparation of Forced Gradient Copolymers Using Tube-in-Tube Continuous Flow Reactors

Simon Saubern, Xuan Nguyen, Van Nguyen, James Gardiner, John Tsanaktsidis, John Chiefari

• CSIRO Manufacturing, Clayton, VIC, Australia

The preparation of forced gradient polymers has received considerable attention using batch reactors, while the preparation of usable quantities of forced gradient copolymers using continuous flow reactors has been hampered by the need to vary the composition of the monomer feedstock continuously during the reaction. A reactor that allows for addition of a monomer feedstock continuously at all points along the length of the reactor tubing allows for the preparation of forced gradient copolymers in continuous flow reactors, allowing for the scale-up and bulk preparation of these polymers. This study reports here the initial investigation of preparing forced gradient copolymers using the reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer methodology in tube-in-tube continuous flow reactors.

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