Process for preparing olefin-acrylate block copolymers

A process for preparing an olefin-acrylate block copolymer, the process comprising:

• a) performing reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization by combining RAFT materials comprising of:
• an acrylate monomer of formula (III):
• a radical initiator, and a RAFT agent of formula (IV):
• thereby forming a macroinitiator of formula (V):
• and
• b) polymerizing the macroinitiator of formula (V) with an alpha-substituted acrylate monomer of formula (II):
• by combing the macroinitiator of formula (V) with the alpha-substituted acrylate monomer of formula (II) with a radical initiator, thereby forming the olefin-acrylate block copolymer of formula (VI):
• wherein each R1 independently is hydrogen or a C1-C30 hydrocarbyl group;
• each R2 independently is hydrogen or a methyl group;
• each wherein each R independently is a polyolefinyl group;
• R11 is selected from the group consisting of optionally substituted alkyl;
• an optionally substituted saturated, unsaturated or aromatic carbocyclic or heterocyclic ring;
• optionally substituted alkylthio;
• optionally substituted alkoxy;
• and optionally substituted dialkylamino;
• and where R11 is a free-radical leaving group that can initiate free-radical polymerization;
• each Z is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, chlorine, optionally substituted alkyl, optionally substituted aryl, optionally substituted heterocyclyl, optionally substituted alkylthio, optionally substituted alkoxycarbonyl, optionally substituted aryloxycarbonyl (—COOR″), carboxy (—COOH), optionally substituted acyloxy (—O2CR″), optionally substituted carbamoyl (—CONR″2), cyano (—CN), dialkyl- or diaryl-phosphonato [—P(═O)OR″2], and dialkyl- or diaryl-phosphinato [—P(═O)R″2];
• each R″ independently is selected from the group consisting of optionally substituted C1-C18 alkyl, C2-C18 alkenyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, aralkyl, alkaryl wherein the substituents are independently selected from the group that consists of epoxy, hydroxy, alkoxy acyl, acyloxy, carboxy (and salts), sulfonic acid (and salts), alkoxy- or aryloxycarbonyl, isocyanato, cyano, silyl, halo, and dialkylamino;
• and
• each I independently is a radical initiator or a free radical leaving group resulting from R11 of the RAFT agent that initiates free radical polymerization;
• each n independently is from 2 to 500;
• and
• m is from 1 to 50.