Reversible‐deactivation radical polymerizations (RDRPs) have revolutionized synthetic polymer chemistry. Nowadays, RDRPs facilitate design and preparation of materials with controlled architecture, composition, and functionality. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) has evolved beyond traditional polymer field, enabling synthesis of organic–inorganic hybrids, bioconjugates, advanced polymers for electronics, energy, and environmentally relevant polymeric materials for broad applications in various fields. This review focuses on the relation between ATRP technology and the 12 principles of green chemistry, which are paramount guidelines in sustainable research and implementation. The green features of ATRP are presented, discussing the environmental and/or health issues and the challenges that remain to be overcome. Key discoveries and recent developments in green ATRP are highlighted, while providing a perspective for future opportunities in this area.

The aim of the paper is to explain the mechanism of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle (NP) size control, which enables the size control of ZnO NPs obtained in microwave solvothermal synthesis (MSS) within the size range between circa 20 and 120 nm through the control of water content in the solution of zinc acetate in ethylene glycol. Heavy water was used in the tests. The mechanism of ZnO NPs size control was explained, discussed and experimentally verified. The discovery and investigation of this mechanism was possible by tracking the fate of water molecules during the whole synthesis process. All the synthesis products were identified. It was indicated that the MSS of ZnO NPs proceeded through the formation and conversion of intermediates such as Zn ₅ (OH) ₈ (CH ₃ COO) ₂ · x H ₂ O. Esters and H ₂ O were the by-products of the MSS reaction of ZnO NPs. We justified that the esterification reaction is the decisive stage that is a prerequisite of the formation of ZnO NPs. The following parameters of the obtained ZnO NPs and of the intermediate were determined: pycnometric density, specific surface area, phase purity, average particles size, particles size distribution and chemical composition. The ZnO NPs morphology and structure were determined using scanning electron microscopy.

The application of raw materials derived from renewable feedstock has given rise to growing interest recently, as it can be exploited for the production of bio-based materials from vegetable oils. Their availability, biodegradability and low prices have been taken into account. In this work, vegetable oil-based polyols as a prospective replacement for petroleum polyols were investigated. A two-stage method for polyol preparation by incomplete epoxidation of natural oils and subsequent complete oxirane ring opening under microwave irradiation is presented. The course of epoxidation and oxirane ring-opening process was determined analytically by an evaluation of iodine, epoxy and hydroxyl values. The samples of oils and their derivatives were also analyzed by FT-IR and characterized by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) in order to calculate their functionalities. Finally, polyols with two different hydroxyl values were obtained and used for the synthesis of flexible polyurethane (PUR) foams. The scope of this research includes the determination of the relationship between the rapeseed oil-based polyol content and the properties of the resulting materials. It was found that applying bio-based polyols in conjunction with petroleum-based polyols for PUR foams formulations resulted in materials with good mechanical properties and a higher number of cells with smaller dimensions.