Facile one-step fabrication of DMAP-functionalized catalytic nanoreactors by polymerization-induced self-assembly in water

Fabrication of highly efficient and recyclable micellar nanoreactors for green organic transformation via self-assembly of catalyst-containing amphiphilic copolymers in water has made great progress. These methods commonly include synthesis and functionalized amphiphilic copolymers and then self-assembly. In this study, a straightforward, one-step strategy for the construction of DMAP-functionalized nanoreactors was developed via polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). Acrylate hydrophilic monomer and DMAP-functionalized monomer in the presence of hydrophilic macromolecular chain transfer reagent was polymerized through reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization in situ in water, leading to simultaneous amphiphilic block copolymer formation and self-assembly. The diameters of the resulted micelles ranged from 20 to 100 nm depending on the type and amount of hydrophilic monomer, and solid content is up to 25%. The high catalytic activity of the micelles as homogeneous, also readily recyclable catalysts is demonstrated through acylation of a variety of alcohols and recovery by simple dialysis. The study offers an one-pot tandem RAFT-PISA process in water for fabricating highly efficient catalytic nanoreactor.