2026/07/27 by Yuya Miyake, Luis Tsatsos Montoliu, Kyoko Nozaki
Chemistry · Materials Science · #Block Copolymer Self-Assembly #Organometallic Complex Synthesis and Catalysis #Polymer crystallization and properties
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41428-026-01223-z
crossref issued 2026/07/27 · crossref published 2026/07/27 · crossref published-online 2026/07/27 · openalex publication_date 2026/07/27 · crossref created 2026/07/27 · openalex created_date 2026/07/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29 · crossref deposited 2026/07/31 · crossref indexed 2026/07/31
Abstract We disclose a new route for the preparation of linear polyethylene (PE)–poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) diblock copolymers. The PE segment is synthesized by coordination–insertion polymerization (CIP), and the PMA segment is polymerized through radical polymerization (RP). Notably, no solvent is used during the process. Linear alkyl–nickel species synthesized by the CIP of ethylene under a solid−gas two-phase reaction are thermally activated at room temperature in neat methyl acrylate (MA), which triggers RP. Diblock copolymer formation and its composition are supported by a unimodal SEC shift and 1 H/ 13 C NMR analyses. The presence of small PE crystals in amorphous PMA is implied by powder XRD analysis. The difference in the reactivities of MA and methyl methacrylate (MMA) suggests that RP initiates through the thermal homolytic scission of the C−Ni bond of α-carbonyl Ni species.