[2][3] ATRP with copper as catalyst quickly became one of the most robust and commonly used RDRP techniques for designing and synthesizing polymers with well-defined composition, functionalities, and architecture.
[7] However, then, in 2006, the Cu(0) – mediated RDRP of MA (in combination with tris(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)amine(Me6TREN) as ligand in polar solvents) was reported, with a very different mechanism, single electron transfer living radical polymerization (SET-LRP) postulated by Virgil Percec.
[8] Initiated by this mechanistic difference, many research articles were published during recent years which aimed to shed a light on this specific polymerization reaction, and the discussion of the mechanisms has been a very striking episode in the field of polymer science.
[9][10][11][12] In the case of RDRP reactions in the presence of Cu(0), one of the mechanistic models proposed in the literature is called the supplemental activator and reducing agent atom-transfer radical polymerization (SARA ATRP).
[16][19] The Cu-based RDRP mechanism showed that induction period is originated from the accumulation of soluble copper species during that initial unstable stage.