Abstract
Controlled/living radical polymerization (CLRP) is a field that has been expanding continuously during the last 15 years, as the method allows for the synthesis of well-defined polymers under mild conditions. Many CLRP systems have been developed, all of them relying on an equilibrium between a minute concentration of radicals and a large amount of dormant species. Among them, atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) has evolved as one of the most versatile techniques for the production of well-defined materials. This paper briefly reviews the fundamentals of ATRP, while a future paper will be discussing the applications. Keywords: controlled/living radical polymerization, atom transfer radical polymerization, transition metal catalysis