Rapidly self-deoxygenating controlled radical polymerization in water via in situ disproportionation of Cu(i)

Open-Air Chemical Recycling: Fully Oxygen-Tolerant ATRP Depolymerization

While oxygen-tolerant strategies have been overwhelmingly developed for controlled radical polymerizations, the low radical concentrations typically required for high monomer recovery render oxygen-tolerant solution depolymerizations particularly challenging. Here, an open-air atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) depolymerization is presented, whereby a small amount of a volatile cosolvent is introduced as a means to thoroughly remove oxygen. Ultrafast depolymerization (i.e., 2 min) could efficiently proceed in an open vessel, allowing a very high monomer retrieval to be achieved (i.e., ∼91% depolymerization efficiency), on par with that of the fully deoxygenated analogue. Oxygen probe studies combined with detailed depolymerization kinetics revealed the importance of the low-boiling point cosolvent in removing oxygen prior to the reaction, thus facilitating effective open-air depolymerization. The versatility of the methodology was demonstrated by performing reactions with a range of different ligands and at high polymer loadings (1 M monomer repeat unit concentration) without significantly compromising the yield. This approach provides a fully oxygen-tolerant, facile, and efficient route to chemically recycle ATRP-synthesized polymers, enabling exciting new applications.

Synthesis of Multifunctional Protein-Polymer Conjugates via Oxygen-tolerant, Aqueous Copper-Mediated Polymerization, and Bioorthogonal Click Chemistry

Oxygen-tolerant, aqueous copper-mediated polymerization approaches are combined with click chemistry in either a sequential or a simultaneous manner, to enable the synthesis of multifunctional protein-polymer conjugates. Propargyl acrylate (PgA) and propargyl methacrylate (PgMA) grafting from a bovine serum albumin (BSA) macroinitiator is thoroughly optimized to synthesize chemically addressable BSA-poly(propargyl acrylate) and BSA-poly(propargyl methacrylate) respectively. The produced multifunctional bioconjugates bear pendant terminal 1-alkynes which can be readily post-functionalized via both [3+2] Huisgen cycloaddition and thiol-yne click chemistry under mild reaction conditions. Simultaneous oxygen-tolerant, aqueous copper-catalyzed polymerization, and click chemistry mediate the in situ multiple chemical tailoring of biomacromolecules in excellent yields.

Fully Oxygen-Tolerant Visible-Light-Induced ATRP of Acrylates in Water: Toward Synthesis of Protein-Polymer Hybrids

Over the last decade, photoinduced ATRP techniques have been developed to harness the energy of light to generate radicals. Most of these methods require the use of UV light to initiate polymerization. However, UV light has several disadvantages: it can degrade proteins, damage DNA, cause undesirable side reactions, and has low penetration depth in reaction media. Recently, we demonstrated green-light-induced ATRP with dual catalysis, where eosin Y (EYH2) was used as an organic photoredox catalyst in conjunction with a copper complex. This dual catalysis proved to be highly efficient, allowing rapid and well-controlled aqueous polymerization of oligo(ethylene oxide) methyl ether methacrylate without the need for deoxygenation. Herein, we expanded this system to synthesize polyacrylates under biologically relevant conditions using CuII/Me6TREN (Me6TREN = tris[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]amine) and EYH2 at ppm levels. Water-soluble oligo(ethylene oxide) methyl ether acrylate (average M n = 480, OEOA480) was polymerized in open reaction vessels under green light irradiation (520 nm). Despite continuous oxygen diffusion, high monomer conversions were achieved within 40 min, yielding polymers with narrow molecular weight distributions (1.17 ≤ D̵ ≤ 1.23) for a wide targeted DP range (50-800). In situ chain extension and block copolymerization confirmed the preserved chain end functionality. In addition, polymerization was triggered/halted by turning on/off a green light, showing temporal control. The optimized conditions also enabled controlled polymerization of various hydrophilic acrylate monomers, such as 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, 2-(methylsulfinyl)ethyl acrylate), and zwitterionic carboxy betaine acrylate. Notably, the method allowed the synthesis of well-defined acrylate-based protein-polymer hybrids using a straightforward reaction setup without rigorous deoxygenation.

Surface-Initiated Synthesis of Cell-Specific Glycopolymers Using Live Mammalian Cells as Templates

Molecular recognition is an important process in life activities where specificity is the key. However, the method to gain specificity are often complex and time-consuming. Herein, a novel, versatile, and effective way is developed to obtain cell-specific glycosurfaces by surface-initiated Cu-mediated reversible deactivation radical polymerization (Cu-RDRP) in an open to air fashion. Mammalian cells are used for the first time as live templates to realize cell-sugar monomer-aptation-polymerization which can produce cell-specific glycosurfaces. Both epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) positive cells L929 and EpCAM negative cells Hela as models are used to acquire two cell-specific glycosurfaces, which can distinguish template-cells from others. The strategy is effective and convenient without the need of fixative pretreatment of cells. It is found that the specific capture does not rely on EpCAM antibodies, and the specificity is related to the composition and chain sequence of the glycopolymer brushes rather than surface morphology. In addition, these glycosurfaces keep the ability to identify the target cells after ten regenerative treatments, which provides another advantage for practical applications.

Open-air green-light-driven ATRP enabled by dual photoredox/copper catalysis

Photoinduced atom transfer radical polymerization (photo-ATRP) has risen to the forefront of modern polymer chemistry as a powerful tool giving access to well-defined materials with complex architecture. However, most photo-ATRP systems can only generate radicals under biocidal UV light and are oxygen-sensitive, hindering their practical use in the synthesis of polymer biohybrids. Herein, inspired by the photoinduced electron transfer-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (PET-RAFT) polymerization, we demonstrate a dual photoredox/copper catalysis that allows open-air ATRP under green light irradiation. Eosin Y was used as an organic photoredox catalyst (PC) in combination with a copper complex (X-CuII/L). The role of PC was to trigger and drive the polymerization, while X-CuII/L acted as a deactivator, providing a well-controlled polymerization. The excited PC was oxidatively quenched by X-CuII/L, generating CuI/L activator and PC˙+. The ATRP ligand (L) used in excess then reduced the PC˙+, closing the photocatalytic cycle. The continuous reduction of X-CuII/L back to CuI/L by excited PC provided high oxygen tolerance. As a result, a well-controlled and rapid ATRP could proceed even in an open vessel despite continuous oxygen diffusion. This method allowed the synthesis of polymers with narrow molecular weight distributions and controlled molecular weights using Cu catalyst and PC at ppm levels in both aqueous and organic media. A detailed comparison of photo-ATRP with PET-RAFT polymerization revealed the superiority of dual photoredox/copper catalysis under biologically relevant conditions. The kinetic studies and fluorescence measurements indicated that in the absence of the X-CuII/L complex, green light irradiation caused faster photobleaching of eosin Y, leading to inhibition of PET-RAFT polymerization. Importantly, PET-RAFT polymerizations showed significantly higher dispersity values (1.14 ≤ Đ ≤ 4.01) in contrast to photo-ATRP (1.15 ≤ Đ ≤ 1.22) under identical conditions.

Probing the origin and stability of bivalency in copper based porous coordination network and its application for H2S gas capture

A bivalent Cu(I,II) metal–organic framework (MOF) based on the 4,4′,4″-s-Triazine-2,4,6-triyl-tribenzoate linker was synthesized via a solvothermal method. The MOF possessed 43.8% of the Cu sites as Cu⁺ with a surface area of 1257 m² g⁻¹. The detailed spectroscopic analysis confirmed dimethylformamide (DMF) solvent as the reductant responsible for Cu⁺ sites in the synthesized MOF. The Cu⁺ sites were easily accessible and prone to oxidation in hot water or acidic gas environment. The MOF showed water-induced structural change, which could be partially recovered after soaking in DMF solvent. The synthesized MOF showed a high hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) uptake capacity of 4.3 mmol g^–1 at 298 K and an extremely low H₂S pressure of 0.0005 bar. The adsorption capacity was the highest among Cu-based MOFs with PCN-6-M being regenerable, which made it useful for deep desulfurization applications. The adsorbed H₂S was mineralized to sulfide, sulfur, and sulfates, mediated by the Cu⁺/Cu²⁺ redox cycle in the presence of adsorbed water and molecular oxygen. Thus, the study confirmed that DMF as a reductant is responsible for the origin of bivalency in PCN-6-M and possibly in other Cu-based MOFs reported in the literature. Also, the developed MOF could be a potential candidate for flue gas desulfurization and gas purification applications.

Rapid Oxygen-Tolerant Synthesis of Protein-Polymer Bioconjugates via Aqueous Copper-Mediated Polymerization

The synthesis of protein-polymer conjugates usually requires extensive and costly deoxygenation procedures, thus limiting their availability and potential applications. In this work, we report the ultrafast synthesis of polymer-protein bioconjugates in the absence of any external deoxygenation via an aqueous copper-mediated methodology. Within 10 min and in the absence of any external stimulus such as light (which may limit the monomer scope and/or disrupt the secondary structure of the protein), a range of hydrophobic and hydrophilic monomers could be successfully grafted from a BSA macroinitiator, yielding well-defined polymer-protein bioconjugates at quantitative yields. Our approach is compatible with a wide range of monomer classes such as (meth) acrylates, styrene, and acrylamides as well as multiple macroinitiators including BSA, BSA nanoparticles, and beta-galactosidase from Aspergillus oryzae. Notably, the synthesis of challenging protein-polymer-polymer triblock copolymers was also demonstrated, thus significantly expanding the scope of our strategy. Importantly, both lower and higher scale polymerizations (from 0.2 to 35 mL) were possible without compromising the overall efficiency and the final yields. This simple methodology paves the way for a plethora of applications in aqueous solutions without the need of external stimuli or tedious deoxygenation.

Simple Full-Spectrum Heterogeneous Photocatalyst for Photo-induced Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) under UV/vis/NIR and its Application for the Preparation of Dual Mode Curing Injectable Photoluminescence Hydrogel

The utilizing light with broadband range has attracted lots of research interest for the photo induced reversible-deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP). However, it is still a challenge for a single catalyst to simultaneously respond to various lights with highly varied wavelengths. Here, we proposed a simple strategy for the preparation of a heterogeneous photocatalyst suitable for photo induced atom transfer radical polymerization (photoATRP) under full spectrum (from UV/vis light to NIR), by combining pyridine nitrogen doped carbon dots (N-CDs) and upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs). In the presence of these robust UCNP@SiO₂@N-CDs composite particles, the photoATRP could be carried on under the different irradiations of UV, blue, green, red, white, and 980 nm NIR light, with a low loading of part per million concentrations of the CuBr₂/L catalyst. Moreover, the excellent solvent and aqueous compatibility allow UCNP@SiO₂@N-CDs to be capable for photoATRP in both organic solvents and aqueous media, providing well-defined hydrophobic and hydrophilic polymers with low dispersity and excellent chain-end fidelity. In addition, the photoATRP with 980 nm NIR exhibited excellent penetrations through visible-light-proof barriers. The system could be used for the preparation of an injectable hydrogel that had dual curing and photoluminescence modes. Owing to the "living" characteristics of polymer chains achieved through ATRP, the hydrogel was capable to be easily repaired by using monomer as the binder.

Well-defined polyacrylamides with AIE properties via rapid Cu-mediated living radical polymerization in aqueous solution: thermoresponsive nanoparticles for bioimaging

There is a requirement for the development of methods for the preparation of well-controlled polymers with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties.

Effects of Cu(I) contents on voltammetric behavior and electrodeposition mechanism of bimetallic composite ionic liquids

Effective electrochemical recovery of metal for bimetallic composite ionic liquid (IL) is related to ion species and even the reaction mechanism under different Cu(I) content, thus bimetallic composite ILs (Et3NHCl-1.54AlCl3-xCuCl,...

Heterogeneous Bionic Enzymes Photoinduced Oxygen Catalyzed RAFT Polymerization

Exploiting aerobic polymerization approaches is the feasible strategy to fundamentally address the phenomenon of oxygen blocking polymerization. A photo-bionic enzyme-reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization system (COF/H2O/O2) was successfully constructed,...

Making ATRP More Practical: Oxygen Tolerance

Atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is a well-known technique for the controlled polymerization of vinyl monomers under mild conditions. However, as with any other radical polymerization, ATRP typically requires rigorous oxygen exclusion, making it time-consuming and challenging to use by nonexperts. In this Account, we discuss various approaches to achieving oxygen tolerance in ATRP, presenting the overall progress in the field.Copper-mediated ATRP, which we first discovered in the late 1990s, uses a Cu^I/L activator that reversibly reacts with the dormant C(sp³)-X polymer chain end, forming a X-Cu^II/L deactivator and a propagating radical. Oxygen interferes with activation and chain propagation by quenching the radicals and oxidizing the activator. At ATRP equilibrium, the activator is present at a much higher concentration than the propagating radicals. Thus, oxidation of the activator is the dominant inhibition pathway. In conventional ATRP, this reaction is irreversible, so oxygen must be strictly excluded to achieve good results.Over the last two decades, our group has developed several ATRP techniques based on the concept of regenerating the activator. When the oxidized activator is continuously converted back to its active reduced form, then the catalytic system itself can act as an oxygen scavenger. Regeneration can be accomplished by reducing agents and photo-, electro-, and mechanochemical stimuli. This family of methods offers a degree of oxygen tolerance, but most of them can tolerate only a limited amount of oxygen and do not allow polymerization in an open vessel.More recently, we discovered that enzymes can be used in auxiliary catalytic systems that directly deoxygenate the reaction medium and protect the polymerization process. We developed a method that uses glucose oxidase (GOx), glucose, and sodium pyruvate to very effectively scavenge oxygen and enable open-vessel ATRP. By adding a second enzyme, horseradish peroxidase (HPR), we managed to extend the role of the auxiliary enzymatic system to generating carbon-based radicals and changed ATRP from an oxygen-sensitive to an oxygen-fueled reaction.While performing control experiments for the enzymatic methods, we noticed that using sodium pyruvate under UV irradiation triggers polymerization without the presence of GOx. This serendipitous discovery allowed us to develop the first oxygen-proof, small-molecule-based, photoinduced ATRP system. It has oxygen tolerance similar to that of the enzymatic methods, exhibits superior compatibility with both aqueous media and organic solvents, and avoids problems associated with purifying polymers from enzymes. The system was able to rapidly polymerize N-isopropylacrylamide, a challenging monomer, with a high degree of control.These contributions have substantially simplified the use of ATRP, making it more practical and accessible to everyone.

Oxygen tolerant, photoinduced controlled radical polymerization approach for the synthesis of giant amphiphiles

New families of amphiphilic protein–polymer bioconjugates readily synthesized via an oxygen tolerant, photoinduced RDRP approach.

Fully oxygen-tolerant atom transfer radical polymerization triggered by sodium pyruvate

ATRP (atom transfer radical polymerization) is one of the most robust reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) systems. However, the limited oxygen tolerance of conventional ATRP impedes its practical use in an ambient atmosphere. In this work, we developed a fully oxygen-tolerant PICAR (photoinduced initiators for continuous activator regeneration) ATRP process occurring in both water and organic solvents in an open reaction vessel. Continuous regeneration of the oxidized form of the copper catalyst with sodium pyruvate through UV excitation allowed the chemical removal of oxygen from the reaction mixture while maintaining a well-controlled polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) or methyl acrylate (MA) monomers. The polymerizations of NIPAM were conducted with 250 ppm (with respect to the monomer) or lower concentrations of CuBr2 and a tris[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]amine ligand. The polymers were synthesized to nearly quantitative monomer conversions (>99%), high molecular weights (M n > 270 000), and low dispersities (1.16 < Đ < 1.44) in less than 30 min under biologically relevant conditions. The reported method provided a well-controlled ATRP (Đ = 1.16) of MA in dimethyl sulfoxide despite oxygen diffusion from the atmosphere into the reaction system.

Tailoring polymer dispersity by mixing chain transfer agents in PET-RAFT polymerization

Here we report a simple and versatile batch methodology to tailor polymer dispersity utilizing PET-RAFT polymerization.