Polymerization in nanostructured media: applications to the synthesis of associative polymers

Some recent developments obtained by free radical polymerization in nanostructured media are presented. The characteristic features of the confined media like the large overall interfacial area and the particular microenvironment are taken advantage to yield novel materials with interesting properties. The examples considered here include the synthesis of i) thermosensitive polyampholytes by polymerization in bicontinuous microemulsions, ii) ionomers by polymerization in inverse microemulsions and iii) multicompartment polymeric micelles by means of an aqueous micellar polymerization process. The characteristics inherent to each of these syntheses are discussed.