Synthesis of poly(vinyl alcohol) by blue light bismuth oxide photocatalysed RAFT. Evaluation of the impact of freeze/thaw cycling on ice recrystallisation inhibition.

ABSTRACT: Poly(vinyl alcohol), PVA, is the most potent polymeric ice recrystallisation inhibitor (IRI), mimicking a complex function of ice binding proteins. The IRI activity of PVA scales with its molecular weight and hence broad molecular weight distributions in free radical-derived PVAs lead to activity measurements dominated by small amounts of heavier fractions. Well-defined PVA can be prepared by thermally initiated RAFT/MADIX polymerization using xanthates by the polymerization of the less activated monomer vinyl acetate. The low conversions and molecular weights obtained during this approach, often requires feeding of additional initiator and bulk polymerization. Here we employ bismuth oxide photo-RAFT in solution, using blue light (450 nm), rather than previously reported white light, to ob

SUBMITTER: Kontopoulou I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9379775 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature