Microwave-assisted free radical polymerizations

Abstract

Microwave irradiation has drawn rapidly increasing interest in the field of polymer science as an alternative heating method for polymer syntheses and modification, mainly because of its obvious advantages over conventional heating methods as the heating is non-contact, instantaneous and rapid, and highly specific. Many different kinds of microwave-assisted polymerizations have been developed in the past three decades, such as various microwave-assisted free radical polymerizations, step-growth polymerizations, and ring-opening polymerizations, which normally showed dramatically accelerated polymerization rates in comparison with those performed under conventional heating conditions. In this chapter, we provide a detailed overview of microwave-assisted conventional free radical polymerizations and their applications for the rapid and efficient preparation of a diverse range of polymer materials. The progress of both homogeneous (i.e., bulk polymerization and solution polymerization) and heterogeneous (including suspension polymerization, emulsion polymerization, dispersion polymerization, precipitation polymerization, and some other heterogeneous polymerizations) microwave-assisted conventional free radical polymerizations is presented. In addition, some important issues and perspectives in this research area are also discussed.