Crosslinking copolymerization of butyl methacrylate with a small amount of divinylbenzene (DVB) was carried out using single-electron transfer-living radical polymerization initiated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and catalyzed by Cu(0)/N-ligand in N,N-dimethylformamide to produce a highly oil-absorbing gel. The polymerization, gelation process, and oil-absorbing properties were studied in detail. Analysis of monomer conversion with reaction time showed that the polymerization followed first-order kinetics for both linear and crosslinking polymerization before gelation. Higher levels of DVB led to earlier gelation and the influence of N-ligand on gelation was also significant. Under optimal conditions, oil absorption of the prepared gel to chloroform could reach 42.1 g center dot g-1. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2013, 51, 3233-3239