While keeping the feed ratio of [DOT]0/[I]0 constant at 50:1, the SEC-measured PMMAequivalent molecular weights, Mn, of the isolated homopolymers varied between 1.3 kgmol -1 to 13.4 kgmol -1 . The initiators MeOTf and SnCl4 generally formed polymers with lower Mn values and more side products. This observation was attributed to faster polymerization kinetics and the high sensitivity of metal chloride initiators towards the presence of water . In some cases, using anhydrous solvents helped reduce the dispersity and decelerate the reaction kinetics along with decreasing the percentage of side products (Table , entries 1-4, 7, 8). On the other hand, the initiator BF3•Et2O was able to form polymers with reasonably high Mn values potentially because of low initiator efficiency and contributed to better monitoring of gradual polymer formation (Figure ). Considering all the factors mentioned above, BF3•Et2O was chosen as the best initiator for further analysis.