Visible-light-induced controlled ATRP by modified N-rich holey carbon nitride nanosheets in natural solvent

Abstract The design and preparation of green and recyclable catalysts for improving the selectively and efficiency of atom transfer radical polymerization reactions is a critical challenge in polymerization scope. Herein, two-dimensional N-rich carbon nitride nanosheets (g-C3N4 NSs) with high surface area and chemical stability were synthesized. Then, the surface of g-C3N4 NSs was modified with N-(2-acetamido)-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid as a chelating agent to obtain ACES@ g-C3N4 NSs. Finally, copper (II) was introduced to the ACES@ g-C3N4 NSs. The as-synthesized Cu-ACES@g-C3N4 NSs were characterized by various analyses. The ionic interaction, arising from sulfonate and iminium ions, increases the dispersity and stability of the catalyst in a deep eutectic solvent (DES). So, the photocatalyst was successfully utilized for “green” atom transfer radical polymerization of styrene and methyl methacrylate by the irradiation of the reaction mixture under sunlight and visible light in deep eutectic solvent as a green polymerization reaction media. The polymers with good conversions and relatively low polydispersity were obtained which characterization analyses confirmed their structure and properties. Notably, the advantages of the presented photocatalyst include easy separation and reusability without loss of activity due to its heterogeneous nature, as well as using DES as a green solvent which promotes the reaction efficiency.