Controlled Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate Initiated by an Alkyl Halide in the Presence of the Wilkinson Catalyst

It is found that although the Wilkinson catalyst is less efficient than the Sawamoto and Matyjaszewski systems in terms of polymerization kinetics, it allows MMA to be polymerized in a living manner at a temperature as low as 60°C and in the absence of any Lewis acid