Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of styrene and acrylonitrile with monofunctional and bifunctional initiators

A bifunctional initiator (benzal bromide) was used to initiate the bulk atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene and acrylonitrile at 90 °C with CuBr/2,2-bipyridyl. We compared these results with those of a monofunctional initiator of similar structure (1-bromoethyl benzene) under the same polymerization conditions. The monofunctional initiator worked better than the bifunctional initiator when both comonomers were added simultaneously at the beginning of the copolymerization; the bifunctional initiator was only effective when acrylonitrile was added after 20 min of polymerization with styrene. The styrene–acrylonitrile copolymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography, 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and refractometry. Copolymer composition was monitored by both 13C NMR and by the change in the specific refractive index increment.