Atom transfer radical polymerisation in emulsion

Atom transfer radical polymerisation ATRP) has been applied to emulsion sys tems using 2-pyridinecarbaldehyde-3,3-diphenylpropy (dPP) and 4,4'-diheptyl -2,2'-bipyridine (dHbpy) as ligands in the Cu-complex. The application of t he former shows a jump in molecular weight at low conversion, probably due to the slow build-up of deactivating species in the particle phase. When dH bpy is used as ligand, control over polymerisation is maintained up to high er conversion, which is due to the favourable partitioning of the deactivat or. The absence of initial high molecular weight can be ascribed to the fas ter build-up of the deactivator concentration in the particle phase. The pr eliminary results show that ATRP in emulsion is possible, but additional in vestigations are necessary to understand the role of all components involve d.