Combination of Living Radical Polymerization and Click Chemistry for Surface Modification

A novel reversible addition fragmentation technique chain transfer agent (RAFT CTA) was synthesized which permits the possibility of using RAFT polymerization and click chemistry together for surface modification. Using this RAFT CTA, the surface of silica nanoparticles was modified with polystyrene and polyacrylamide brushes via the “grafting to” approach. A click reaction was used to attach polymers onto the surface which produced relatively high grafting density. Both tethered polystyrene and polyacrylamide chains were found in the brush regime. The combination of ATRP and click chemistry was also explored for surface modification. To our knowledge, this is first report of RAFT polymerization and click chemistry together for surface modification.