Anionic polymerizations in a microreactor

Abstract

Since the discovery of living polymers by Szwarc in 1956, anionic polymerization has contributed many firsts in polymer synthesis. Advanced macromolecules with well-defined microstructures and commercial polymer materials with high performance are synthesized via anionic polymerization. The earliest investigation on continuous flow polymer synthesis also originated with anionic polymerization. Significant benefits have been achieved by the utility of a microreactor over a batch fashion. This review is not a comprehensive summary of the progress but attempts to focus on the effect of the structure of the microreactor on anionic polymerization and related applications in polymer synthesis. We hope it would provide guidance for flow chemistry and anionic polymerization.