Continuous photoflow synthesis of precision polymers

Abstract

Precision polymer design in continuous photoflow reactors is a young, yet rapidly growing research field. By switching from batch to flow processing, polymerizations can be carried out with unmatched efficiency under mild reaction conditions, while concommitantly providing conditions for simple scale up of reactions. Specifically the reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) techniques have gained significant interest in this respect within the past one to two years. The different photoRDRP methods are herein compared and the underlying principles of the advantage of carrying polymerization out under photoflow conditions are elucidated. Further, the yet unexplored potential of these techniques is identified and discussed towards future development.