Grafting of polymers from electrodeposited macro-RAFT initiators on conducting surfaces

A novel route for grafting polymers via electropolymerization of a macro-reversible addition fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) agent onto a conducting surface is reported. The electro-deposition of the chain transfer agent (CTA) on the conducting surface was done using cyclic voltammetry (CV). The statistically exposed dithiobenzoate moieties served as a CTA for the polymerization of styrene on a matrix of an electrodeposited conjugated polymer. The polystyrene (PS)-modified substrate was then used as the macro-CTA for the synthesis of the second block of poly-tert-butyl acrylate (PTBA) on the surface. The polymerization from the surface was characterized by surface analytical methods including AFM, XPS, and contact angle measurements.