Facile one-pot method of initiator fixation for surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization on carbon hard spheres

An efficient and novel one-pot process is developed to immobilize the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) initiators onto the surface of fully pyrolyzed carbon hard spheres (CHSs) via a radical trapping process from the in situ thermal decomposition of bis(bromomethylbenzoyl)peroxide. The CHSs do not require any additional preparative treatment prior to the initiator immobilization. Styrene and methyl methacrylate are polymerized onto initiator-immobilized CHSs by surface-initiated atomic transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). Samples are characterized using Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. These methods of characterization confirmed that all the CHSs are coated with a uniform layer of grafted polymer. This efficient, one-pot immobilization of ATRP-initiators represents an exceptionally simple route for the rapid preparation of various polymer-coated carbon-based nanomaterials using SI-ATRP. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 3314-3322