A Brief Review on Polymer-Based Nanocomposites Through RAFT Polymerization

Nanocomposites are compounds fabricated by a mixture of two or more different materials in separate phases with at least one of the components in nanoscale dimension (often under 100 nm). Polymeric nanocomposites often demonstrate better physical, chemical, mechanical and thermal properties compared to regular polymeric composites. Radical polymerization is one of the most commonly used processes for the commercial production of polymeric nanocomposites. Since the properties of the polymeric nanocomposites are related to degree of polymerization its behavior is not predictable. Recently, controlled/living radical polymerization techniques have attracted much attention for preparation of polymeric nanocomposites, because of the advantages of these techniques. Generally, to date, three main methods for controlled/living radical polymerization have been practically studied which are as follows: nitroxide-mediated radical polymerization (NMP), atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), and reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT). Because of great advantages of RAFT over other controlled/living radical polymerization techniques (CRP) method, it has been widely used for the synthesis of polymeric nanocomposites. In this article, synthesis of polymeric nanocomposites based on different nanoparticles such as carbon-based nanoparticles, SiO2, Fe3O4, and TiO2 via RAFT polymerization has been reviewed.