Overview of Controlled/Living polymerization Methods of Vinyl Monomers

This chapter provides an overview of controlled/living polymerization systems of vinyl monomers. It discusses the attributes of living polymerizations, and provides an overview of anionic, cationic, coordination-insertion, and controlled radical polymerization (CRP) methods. The discussion of CRP focuses on atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The chapter concludes with a summary of progress in hybrids and complex polymeric architectures. In the case of CRP, significant improvements over conventional radical processes have been observed. These methods offer many of the benefits seen for living polymerization such as nearly quantitative functionalization, reasonably high molecular weight values, and formation of multiblock polymers.