Uniform Branched Polymer Microspheres <italic style="font-style: italic">via</italic> Reversible Addition-fragmentation Chain Transfer Dispersion Self-condensing Vinyl Polymerization

Chao-Jian Luo; Li Zhang; Jian-Bo Tan

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3600-2

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Uniform Branched Polymer Microspheres via Reversible Addition-fragmentation Chain Transfer Dispersion Self-condensing Vinyl Polymerization

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-07-01

- Uniform Branched Polymer Microspheres via Reversible Addition-fragmentation Chain Transfer Dispersion Self-condensing Vinyl Polymerization
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 7, Pages: 2153-2166(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.Department of Polymeric Materials and Engineering, School of Materials and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China
  b.Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Soft Condensed Matter, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Author bio：
  
  tanjianbo@gdut.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3600-2
  CLC：
- Received：06 January 2026，
  
  Revised：2026-01-26，
  
  Accepted：28 January 2026，
  
  Online First：09 May 2026，
  
  Published：05 July 2026
- Accepted：
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Luo, C. J.; Zhang, L.; Tan, J. B. Uniform branched polymer microspheres via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer dispersion self-condensing vinyl polymerization. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 2153–2166

Chao-Jian Luo, Li Zhang, Jian-Bo Tan. Uniform Branched Polymer Microspheres via Reversible Addition-fragmentation Chain Transfer Dispersion Self-condensing Vinyl Polymerization[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(7): 2153-2166. DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3600-2.
Luo, C. J.; Zhang, L.; Tan, J. B. Uniform branched polymer microspheres via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer dispersion self-condensing vinyl polymerization. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 2153–2166 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3600-2.

Chao-Jian Luo, Li Zhang, Jian-Bo Tan. Uniform Branched Polymer Microspheres via Reversible Addition-fragmentation Chain Transfer Dispersion Self-condensing Vinyl Polymerization[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(7): 2153-2166. DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3600-2. DOI：

摘要

This study reports a reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) dispersion self-condensing vinyl polymerization platform using a chain-transfer monomer and macro-RAFT agent for the one-pot synthesis of monodisperse microspheres composed of well-defined branched (multi)block copolymers.

Abstract

We report a reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) dispersion self-condensing vinyl polymerization (SCVP) platform using a chain-transfer monomer (CTM) and macro-RAFT agent for the one-pot synthesis of monodisperse microspheres composed of well-defined branched (multi)block copolymers. Under RAFT dispersion polymerization conditions

the CTM functions as both a comonomer and branching RAFT site

affording polymer microspheres containing branched polymers while maintaining narrow particle size distributions. The preserved RAFT end-groups on the branches enabled seeded chain extension to give branched diblock and multiblock copolymer microspheres with methyl methacrylate (MMA) and a range of second monomers

while retaining microsphere monodispersity. Using styrene (St) as the second monomer yielded nanostructured branched PMMA-

-PSt microspheres

whose internal morphologies underwent a sphere-to-cylinder transition as the branching degree in the PMMA block was decreased at a fixed composition. These results establish the branching degree in the branched block as an effective parameter to manipulate intraparticle phase behavior and demonstrate RAFT dispersion SCVP as a scalable route to sequence-controlled

topologically complex polymer microspheres with tunable internal

nanostructures.

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Uniform Branched Polymer Microspheres via Reversible Addition-fragmentation Chain Transfer Dispersion Self-condensing Vinyl Polymerization

DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3600-2

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references