Mechanochemical Synthesis of Stimuli Responsive Microgels

Abstract

Mechanochemical approaches are widely used for the efficient, solvent‐free synthesis of organic molecules, however their applicability to the synthesis of functional polymers has remained underexplored. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time that mechanochemically triggered free‐radical polymerization allows solvent‐ and initiator‐free syntheses of structurally and morphologically well‐defined complex functional macromolecular architectures, namely stimuliresponsive microgels. The developed mechanochemical polymerization approach is applicable to a variety of monomers and allows synthesizing microgels with tunable chemical structure, variable size, controlled number of crosslinks and reactive functional end‐groups.

Kinetics of primary mechanochemical covalent-bond-forming reactions

“…1–3 Mechanochemical methods have already been used to generate organometallic compounds, 4,5 active pharmaceutical ingredients, 6–8 nanoparticles, 9,10 metal–organic frameworks, 11,12 and stimuli-responsive materials. 13 In addition to the wide range of materials that have been made, mechanochemical methods can produce chemicals that are difficult to obtain using solvothermal processes, 14 or, in other instances, result in product distributions that differ from those obtained when the same reaction is carried out using conventional solvothermal methods. 15,16 Perhaps the most compelling attribute of mechanochemical reactions is that they are significantly more sustainable than their solvothermal counterparts 17 because the mechanochemical reactions often proceed with lower relative energy demand than solvothermal syntheses and without toxic solvents.…”

High Power Sunlight‐Simulated UV‐Induced Radical Polymerization: Self‐Initiation and Self‐Crosslinking

“…explored the mechanochemical synthesis of stimuli‐responsive microgels. [ 12 ] They successfully synthesized microgels with tailored stimuli‐responsive behavior without using any added initiator. This approach provides a novel pathway for designing materials with dynamic properties that can respond to external triggers.…”