Dispersion polymerization of acrylonitrile using a poly(ethylene glycol)-b-polyacrylonitrile macro-RAFT agent

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanoparticles were successfully prepared by dispersion polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) in water using 10 and 20 wt% of the poly(ethylene oxide)-b-PAN macromolecular RAFT (PEO-b-PAN macro-RAFT) agent (Mn=5,600 g/mol, PDI=1.15). The degrees of polymerization of the PEO and PAN blocks were 113 and 16, respectively. The PAN nanoparticles had a crumpled spherical appearance and their sizes ranged from 50–80 nm. The degree of crystallinity of the PAN particles was 23 %. The Mn values of the PAN nanoparticles prepared with 10 and 20 wt% of the PEO-b-PAN macro-RAFT agent were 33,900 and 25,800 g/mol, respectively. The existence of the PEO block on the surface of the PAN nanoparticles was confirmed by 1H NMR spectroscopy and XPS.