Advances in Organocatalyzed Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) is one of the most robust tools to prepare well-defined polymers with precise topologies and architectures. Although series of improved ATRP methods have been developed to decrease the metal catalyst loading to parts per million, metal residue is the key limiting factor for variety of applications, especially in microelectronic and biomedical area. The feasible solution to this challenge would be the establishment of metal-free ATRP. Since 2014, organocatalyzed ATRP (O-ATRP) or metal free ATRP has achieved significant progress by developing kinds of organic photoredox catalysts. This review highlights the advances in organocatalyzed atom transfer radical polymerization as well as the potential future directions.