Mechanically induced atom transfer radical polymerization with high efficiency via piezoelectric heterostructures

A facile ultrasonication induced atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) mediated via piezoelectric heterostructure was developed. ZnO/BaTiO 3 heterostructure was prepared by in-situ deposition of zinc precursor on BaTiO 3 particles followed by high temperature annealing. Under ultrasonic activation, as-synthesized piezoelectric ZnO/BaTiO 3 heterostructure with an elevated macroscopic polarization could facilitate piezoelectric induced electron-hole pairs with more efficient separation and transfer, leading to the enhanced piezocatalytic in controlled living polymerization. High efficiency of ultrasonication mediated ATRP of methyl methacrylate (MMA) by ZnO/BaTiO 3 heterostructure about 63.1% conversion was achieved under 4 h ultrasonic agitation, providing PMMA homopolymer with well-defined molecular weight, narrow molecular dispersity and high end-group fidelity. Furthermore, implications of CuBr 2 /TPMA concentrations, piezoelectric materials, ZnO/BaTiO 3 heterostructure loading and distinct monomer were systematically investigated. Process of ultrasonication-mediated ATRP could be readily controlled by ultrasound switch on/off. The versatility of ultrasonication-mediated ATRP system was further verified by the preparation of star-like polymer. The ability of transfer piezoelectric-induced electrons from ZnO/BaTiO 3 heterostructure to CuBr 2 /TPMA and nature of ZnO/BaTiO 3 heterostructure were investigated to reveal the mechanism of ultrasonication mediated ATRP. A facile and robust atom transfer radical polymerization catalyzed by piezocatalyst with high efficiency was developed in this study. • Piezoelectric catalyst enabled mechanically induced atom transfer radical polymerization with high efficiency.