Controlled/"Living" Radical Polymerization of Vinyl Acetate

Controlled/"Living" radical polymerization (CRP) of vinyl acetate (VAc) via nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP), organocobalt-mediated polymerization, iodine degenerative transfer polymerization (DT), reversible radical additionfragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT), and atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is summarized and compared with the ATRP of VAc catalyzed by copper halide/2,2':6',2''-terpyridine. The new copper catalyst provides the first example of ATRP of VAc with clear mechanism and the facile synthesis of poly(vinyl acetate) and its block copolymers.