Narrow-disperse highly cross-linked “living” polymer microspheres by two-stage precipitation polymerization

Narrow-disperse, surface-functionalized “living” polymer microspheres with uniformly cross-linked structures were prepared by two-stage precipitation copolymerization of styrene and divinylbenzene. The two-stage precipitation polymerization is composed of an initial conventional precipitation polymerization for the nucleation followed by a reverse atom transfer radical polymerization (reverse ATRP) for the controlled polymerization process. The polymerization parameters (including reaction time for the first stage, AIBN amount and monomer loading) have been studied to show significant influences on the morphologies. Moreover, narrower size distribution and an ATRP initiator-functional surface of resulting particles can be obtained by applying reverse ATRP to conventional precipitation polymerization in the second stage. Furthermore, the “livingness” of the resulting polymer microspheres was testified by their surface modification of poly[2-(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate] (PDMAEMA) brushes via surface-initiated ATRP (SI-ATRP).