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Abstract The photophysical process of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) is, for the first time, exploited for broadband photon harvesting in photo‐regulated controlled/living radical polymerization. Efficient macromolecular synthesis was achieved under illumination with light wavelengths extending from the visible to the near‐infrared regions. Plasmonic Ag nanostructures were in situ generated on Ag₃PO₄photocatalysts in a reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) system, thereby promoting polymerization of various monomers following a LSPR‐mediated electron transfer mechanism. Owing to the LSPR‐enhanced broadband photon harvesting, high monomer conversion (>99 %) was achieved under natural sunlight within 0.8 h. The deep penetration of NIR light enabled successful polymerization with reaction vessels screened by opaque barriers. Moreover, by trapping active oxygen species generated in the photocatalytic process, polymerization could be implemented without pre‐deoxygenation. 

Abstract A key challenge of photoregulated living radical polymerization is developing efficient and robust photocatalysts. Now carbon dots (CDs) have been exploited for the first time as metal‐free photocatalysts for visible‐light‐regulated reversible addition–fragmentation chain‐transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Screening of diverse heteroatom‐doped CDs suggested that the P‐ and S‐doped CDs were effective photocatalysts for RAFT polymerization under mild visible light following a photoinduced electron transfer (PET) involved oxidative quenching mechanism. PET‐RAFT polymerization of various monomers with temporal control, narrow dispersity (Đ≈1.04), and chain‐end fidelity was achieved. Besides, it was demonstrated that the CD‐catalyzed PET‐RAFT polymerization was effectively performed under natural solar irradiation.