Copper(0) Mediated Single Electron Transfer Controlled Radical Polymerization toward CF Bonds on Poly(vinylidene fluoride).

The first copper(0) mediated controlled radical polymerization (CRP) of methyl methacrylate (MMA) toward C-F bonds onto poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) is reported with rather high activity. By avoiding the halogen exchange, Cu-0 instead of Cu-I complexes utilized as catalyst is responsible for the significantly improved polymerization activity. Using F-H decoupled nuclear magnetic resonance technique, the grafting sites onto PVDF are finely located. From this, detailed topologic information including the grafting density, average length of each side chain, along with the overall grafted content of PMMA, is detected by tracking the polymerization as a function of time. This work offers not only a facile CRP strategy based on inactive C-F bonds but also a deep insight into the cleavage of F-bearing compounds in organic chemistry.