Preparation of organoboron block copolymers via ATRP of silicon and boron-functionalized monomers

The organoboron block copolymers were fabricated by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of silicon and boron-functionalized monomer, MBpin. It was observed that the reactivity of the functionalized monomer was similar to that of styrene, though MBpin polymerized at a slower rate than 4- trimethylsilylstyrene. Direct polymerization of MBPin provided rapid access to the desired boron-containing block copolymer in only two reaction steps. The results show that this polymer modification process helps in the easy modification of bromine substituents on boron by reaction with other nucleophiles.