Branching and gelation in atom transfer radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate

Abstract Bulk copolymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) was initiated by methyl α‐bromophenylacetate (MBPA) and mediated by copper bromide (CuBr) ligated with 1,1,4,7,10,10‐hexamethyltriethylenetetramine (HMTETA). The atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of pure MMA yielded polymers with well controlled molecular weights and the homopolymerization was taken as a reference for the …