Seleno-containing poly(vinyl acetate) prepared by diselenocarbonates- mediated controlled free radical polymerizations

Abstract

The living free radical polymerizations of vinyl acetate (VAc) were successfully achieved in the presence of a novel organic selenium compound (diselenocarbonates), with 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the initiator. The living characteristics of the VAc polymerization were confirmed by the linear first-order kinetic plots and linear increase of molecular weights (Mn) of the polymers with monomer conversions, while keeping the relatively low molecular weight distributions. In addition, the end of the polymers contains selenium element which may be useful in biotechnological and biomedical applications. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.