• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.238-246
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• 2008

A new strategy using protection-deprotection chemistry was used to prepare branched polymers using the ATRP method only. Among the several monomers with different protecting groups, vinyl benzyl t-butyloxy carbonate (VBt-BOC) and 4-methyl styrene (4-MeSt) could be polymerized successfully to form backbones using the ATRP method in a controlled fashion. The protected groups in the backbones were converted to alkyl bromides and used as initiating sites for branch formation. The benzyl t-butyloxy carbonate groups in the backbones containing VBt-BOC units were first deprotected to benzyl alcohol by trifluoroacetic acid, then converted to benzyl bromide by reacting them with triphenylphosphine/carbon tetrabromide. The benzyl bromide groups in the backbones containing 4-MeSt units could be generated by bromination of the methyl groups using N-bromosuccinimide/benzoyl peroxide. The structures of the prepared polymers were well-controlled, as evidenced by the controlled molecular weight as well as the narrow and unimodal molecular weight distribution.