Efficient preparation of cyclic poly(methyl acrylate)-block-poly(styrene) by combination of atom transfer radical polymerization and click cyclization

A study was conducted to investigate an alternative cyclization approach for efficient preparation of cyclic poly(methylacrylate)-block-poly(styrene) by combining atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and click cyclization. A team of researchers demonstrated that the function group tolerance, facile end-group modification, and controlled polymerizations offered by atom transfer radical polymerization can be paired with the Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition click coupling process, to generate high-purity cyclic polystyrene, without excess quantities of solvent, or fractionation methods, to purify the product. It was observed that the procedure can provide an efficient route, to prepare a wide range of homopolymers, due to the function group tolerance of both ATRP and the click reaction.