A REVIEW OF GROUP-TRANSFER POLYMERIZATION

A major goal of synthetic polymer cheistry is to predictably control polymer structure. Living polymerizations give the maximum amount of control for the synthesis of well-defined macromolecules. The concept of living polymerization is used to describe systems in which polymerization proceeds in the absence of termination and chain transfer. In 1983, Webster and co-workers introduced a silicon-mediated polymerization of acrylic esters which was named ″group-transfer polymerization″ (GTP). This process displayed the characteristics of a living polymerization at room temoerature, which is an advantage relative to the anionic polymerization of methacrylates. There are several types of living polymerization systems whose utility is restricted to a structural group of monomers. The discovery of new living polymerization systems helps broaden the scope of controlled polymer synthesis. GTP represents a new method for the synthesis of complex macromolecular structures in the acrylic family.