Ntetsikas Konstantinos, Ladelta Viko, Bhaumik Saibal, Hadjichristidis Nikos
Polymer Synthesis Laboratory, KAUST Catalysis Center, Physical Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal 23955, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
ACS Polym Au. 2022 Dec 22;3(2):158-181. doi: 10.1021/acspolymersau.2c00058. eCollection 2023 Apr 12.
Living anionic polymerization will soon celebrate 70 years of existence. This living polymerization is considered the mother of all living and controlled/living polymerizations since it paved the way for their discovery. It provides methodologies for synthesizing polymers with absolute control of the essential parameters that affect polymer properties, including molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, composition and microstructure, chain-end/in-chain functionality, and architecture. This precise control of living anionic polymerization generated tremendous fundamental and industrial research activities, developing numerous important commodity and specialty polymers. In this Perspective, we present the high importance of living anionic polymerization of vinyl monomers by providing some examples of its significant achievements, presenting its current status, giving several insights into where it is going (Quo Vadis) and what the future holds for this powerful synthetic method. Furthermore, we attempt to explore its advantages and disadvantages compared to controlled/living radical polymerizations, the main competitors of living carbanionic polymerization.
活性阴离子聚合即将迎来问世70周年。这种活性聚合被视为所有活性及可控/活性聚合之母，因为它为这些聚合反应的发现铺平了道路。它提供了合成聚合物的方法，能够绝对控制影响聚合物性能的关键参数，包括分子量、分子量分布、组成和微观结构、链端/链内官能团以及结构。活性阴离子聚合的这种精确控制引发了大量基础研究和工业研究活动，催生出众多重要的通用聚合物和特种聚合物。在这篇展望文章中，我们通过列举活性阴离子聚合的一些重大成就实例、介绍其当前状况、对其发展方向（未来走向何方）以及这种强大合成方法的前景进行几点深入探讨，来展现乙烯基单体活性阴离子聚合的高度重要性。此外，我们还试图探究它与活性碳阴离子聚合的主要竞争对手——可控/活性自由基聚合相比的优缺点。
