Continuous Flow Photoinduced Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerization

Photoinduced reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) is a versatile and robust method to yield well-defined polymers under mild conditions with additional advantages of spatial and temporal control. The process and scalability of photoinduced RDRP in the batch mode, however, are limited by the inherent light gradient effect according to the Beer–Lambert law. The continuous flow technique, as an alternative methodology, provides a solution to improve the irradiation efficiency and scale up the polymerization. This Minireview highlights recent progress in continuous flow photoinduced RDRP since 2016. Reversible termination RDRP, degenerative transfer RDRP and others are reviewed in consecutive order. An outlook for continuous flow photoinduced RDRP is also discussed.