Monosized cationic nanoparticles prepared by emulsifer-free emulsion polymerization

Monosized poly(styrene/N-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]methacrylamide/poly(ethylene glycol) ethyl ether methacrylate) [poly(St/PEG-EEM/DMAPM)] cationic nanoparticles were synthesized by emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization conducted in the presence of a cationic initiator, 2,2-azobis(2-methylpropionamidine) dihydrochloride (APDH or V-50). Particle sizes and surface charge densities were measured with a Zeta Sizer. The structure of the terpolymers was determined by Fourier transform IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopies. The amounts of the main monomer (St), cationic comonomer (DMAPM), stabilizer (PEG-EEM), and initiator (APDH), and the water-to-monomer phase ratio were all effective on both the average size and the surface charge of the nanoparicles. The average particle size was in the range 75–400 nm depending on the recipe applied; it decreased on increasing the amount of DMAP or PEG-EEM or the water-to-monomer phase ratio in the feed, while it increased with increasing St or APDH content. These nanoparticles were quite monodisperse with a polydispersity index of 1.008–1.14.     

Synthesis of high molecular weight polymer nanoparticles by [Cp2ZrCl2] catalyzed emulsion polymerization

An early transition metal metallocene compound, Cp₂ZrCl₂, with an anionic surfactant, sodium n‐dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as emulsifier and NaBPh₄ as cocatalyst has been found to be an effective catalytic system for polymerization and copolymerization of monomers like styrene and methyl methacrylate in aqueous medium. The diameters of the latex particles were found to be in between 20 and 40 nm. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

High molecular weight monodisperse polystyrene microspheres prepared by dispersion polymerization,using a novel bifunctional macromonomer

A novel bifunctional vinyl‐terminated polyurethane macromonomer was applied to the dispersion polymerization of styrene in ethanol. Monodisperse polystyrene (PS) microspheres were successfully obtained above 15 wt % of macromonomer relative to styrene. The steep slope from the reduction of the average particle size reveals that the macromonomer can efficiently stabilize higher surface area of the particles when compared with a conventional stabilizer, poly(N‐vinylpyrrolidone). The stable and monodisperse PS microspheres having the weight‐average diameter of 1.2 μm and a good uniformity of 1.01 were obtained with 20 wt % polyurethane macromonomer. The grafting ratio of the PS calculated from ¹H NMR spectra linearly increased up to 0.048 with 20 wt % of the macromonomer. In addition, the high molecular weights (501,300 g/mol) of PS with increased glass transition and enhanced thermal degradation temperature were obtained. Thus, these results suggest that the bifunctional vinyl‐terminated polyurethane macromonomer acts as a reactive stabilizer, which gives polyurethane‐grafted PS with a high molecular weight. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3566–3573, 2005     

Tacticity, molecular weight, and molecular-weight-distribution relationships in stereoregular polyacrylonitrile prepared by electron beam irradiation canal polymerization

The preparation and characterization of stereoregular isotactic polyacrylonitrile (PAN) by electron beam (EB) irradiation on a urea canal complex are described. The EB method has several advantages over the ordinary γ-ray irradiation method: a very short polymerization time is needed (within a few seconds) and EB irradiation is carried out intermittently, and so all the polymer properties can be studied as a function of the EB irradiation dose. The structure–properties relationships of PAN, such as intrinsic viscosity versus the number-average molecular weight and the viscosity versus the isotacticity range were clarified. Significant information for the optimization of the tacticity of PAN was extracted. Received: 23 August 1999 Accepted : 10 January 2000     

Emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene by radiation. I. Effects of reaction conditions on the polymerization rate and polymer molecular weight

The radiation-induced emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene was carried out at an initial pressure of 2–25 kg/cm², temperature of 30–110°C, and under a dose rate of 0.57 × 10⁴?3.0 × 10⁴ rad/hr. The rate of polymerization was shown to be proportional to 1.0 and 1.3 powers of the dose rate and initial pressure, respectively, and is maximal at about 70°C. The molecular weight of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) lies in the range of 10⁵?10⁶, increases with reaction time in the early stage of polymerization, and is maximal at 70°C but is almost independent of the dose rate. An interesting discovery is that PTFE, a hydrophobic polymer, forms as a stable latex in the absence of emulsifier. When PTFE latex coagulates during polymerization under certain conditions, the polymerization rate decreases, probably because polymerization proceeds mainly on the polymer particle surface. The observed rate acceleration and successive increase in polymer molecular weight may be due to slow termination of propagating radicals in the rigid PTFE particles.     

Simulation model for the molecular weight distribution in emulsion polymerization

A Monte Carlo simulation model for the kinetics of emulsion polymerization is proposed. In the present model, the formation of each polymer molecule is simulated by the use of only a couple of probability functions; therefore, the calculation can be handled well even on personal computers. It is straightforward to account for virtually any kinetic event, such as the desorption of oligomeric radicals and chain length dependence of kinetic parameters, and as a consequence very detailed information such as the full distributions of the dead polymer molecular weights and the macroradicals among various polymer particles can be obtained. When bimolecular terminations are the dominant chain stoppage mechanism, the instantaneous molecular weight distribution (produced in a very small time interval) becomes broader than that for homogeneous polymerizations due to a higher possibility that short and long polymer radicals react with each other if bimolecular reactions are fast enough. The increase in the polydispersity of the MWD is fairly large, especially when bimolecular termination by disproportionation is significant; however, the gel permeation chromatography (GPC) may not be a suitable analytical technique to detect such broadening since oligomeric peaks may not be observed in the elution curve. The present simulation method provides greater insight into the complicated phenomena of emulsion polymerizations. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synthesis of cationic polyacrylamide via inverse emulsion polymerization method for the application in water treatment

In order to improve the flocculent efficiency of wastewater treatment, a cationic flocculant poly (acrylamide-[2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl] trimethyl ammonium chloride) (P (AM-DMC)) (CPAM) has been synthesized successfully via an inverse emulsion polymerization. Acrylamide (AM) and [2-(methacryloyloxy) ethyl] trimethyl ammonium chloride (DMC) were served as monomers. The molecular structure of CPAM was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR) and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum (¹H-NMR). The morphology of CPAM particles has been investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Results showed that CPAM was the copolymer of AM and DMC and the particles of CPAM were uniform spheres (the size was about 200?nm). The synthetic conditions of CPAM have been studied and optimized by single-factor experiments. An optimized product was obtained at an intrinsic viscosity of 560?mL/g with a total monomer concentration of 25% and initiator concentration V50 of 0.2% (based on the total monomer mass). The amount of emulsion was 6% and the HLB (Hydrophile-Lipophile-Balance) of emulsion was 7.3. In addition, the flocculation property of CPAM was evaluated with kaolin suspension using jar test, and the result demonstrated that the flocculation property of CPAM performed better than kaolin flocculation.     

Morphology of polytetrafluoroethylene prepared by radiation-induced emulsion polymerization

The original morphology of polytetrafluoroethylene prepared by radiation-induced emulsion polymerization was studied by electron microscopy. The morphology depends on molecular weight, which in turn depends on polymerization conditions, especially the emulsifier concentration. The molecular weight decreases with increasing emulsifier concentration. The morphology changes with molecular weight roughly as follows: fibrils below 10⁵, rods between 10⁵ and 5 × 10⁵, and granular particle above 10⁶. The crystallinity is high for all morphologies.     

Highly filled polystyrene-laponite nanocomposites prepared by emulsion polymerization

Polystyrene-based nanocomposite films containing up to 20 wt% laponite clay have been prepared by emulsion polymerization. Significant increases in the storage and tensile moduli were observed in both the glassy and rubbery state on laponite addition. However, whereas in the glassy state these increases were correlated with the extent of exfoliation of the laponite, in the rubbery state they were more dependent on the overall laponite content. These results are discussed in terms of the observed morphologies and micromechanical models for the reinforcing effect of rigid nano-sized filler particles.     

Synthesis of anisotropic nanoparticles by seeded emulsion polymerization

Anisotropic polystyrene nanoparticles of diameters below 0.5 microm were prepared by coating the surface of cross-linked polystyrene latex particles with a thin hydrophilic polymer layer prior to swelling the particles with styrene and then initiating second-stage free-radical polymerization. Conditions were found so that all particles had uniform asymmetry. The effect of surface chemistry on the development of particle anisotropy during seeded emulsion polymerization of sub-0.5 microm diameter particles was studied. The extent and uniformity of the anisotropy of the final particles depended strongly on the presence of the hydrophilic surface coating. Systematic variation of the degree of hydrophilicity of the surface coating provided qualitative insight into the mechanism responsible for anisotropy. Conditions were chosen so that the surface free energy favored the extrusion of a hydrophobic bulge of monomer on the hydrophilic surface of the particle during the swelling phase: the presence of a hydrophilic layer on the particle surface causes this asymmetry to be favored above uniform wetting of the particle surface by the monomer. Kinetic effects, arising from the finite time required for the seed to swell with the monomer, also play a role.     

Bimodal molecular weight distribution formed in the emulsion polymerization of ethylene

It is known that the molecular weight distribution (MWD) formed in an emulsion polymerization of ethylene can be bimodal. However, the origin of the bimodality has not been elucidated. In this article, a Monte Carlo simulation is conducted, mostly with parameters reported in the literature. The simulated MWDs are bimodal because of the limited volume effect; that is, the high molecular weight profiles are distorted by the small particle size, which is comparable to the size of the largest branched polymer molecule in a particle. The simulated MWDs agree reasonably well with the experimentally obtained MWDs. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3426–3433, 2002     

Dye distribution in fluorescent-labeled latex prepared by emulsion polymerization

Emulsion polymerizations were used for preparing fluorescent-labeled polymers. The labeled polymers were analyzed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) using both fluorescence (FL) and refractive index (RI) as detectors. The uniformity of polymer labeling was measured by the ratio between FL and RI signals, calculated by a computer software, on the basis of each GPC chromatogram. It was found that in emulsion polymerizations, the semicontinuous process can produce a more homogenous dye distribution in the host polymer molecules than the batch method. Uniform labeling of a polymer with various dyes can be achieved by the semi-continuous process. However, experimental conditions for polymerization, such as initiator concentration and the presence of surfactant or chain transfer agent, may influence the uniformity of dye distribution. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Self-assembly of hydrophobic associating polyacrylamide prepared by aqueous dispersion polymerization

Abstract

Hydrophobic associating polyacrylamide (PDH) was prepared via aqueous dispersion polymerization in the presence of ammonium sulfate. In order to dissolve the polymer at high salt solution concentration, a hydrophobic precursor monomer with two cationic heads was synthesized. Upon polymerization, spherical PDH polymer particles were obtained with an average size of about 9.1?µm. The PDH was fully dispersed in water in twenty seconds, leading to a transparent gel. PDH demonstrated superior properties compared to the partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide, for instance, regarding salt tolerance and shear resistance. Addition of a small amount of an anionic surfactant significantly affected the PDH dispersion viscosity due to the formation of mixed micelles. The viscosity slightly decreased after strong shearing (>500?s^?1), showing excellent shear resistance. These features indicate that the synthesized PDH offers a great potential for application in hydraulic fracturing and enhanced oil recovery.     

Modeling molecular weight distribution in emulsion polymerization reactions with transfer to polymer

A mathematical model was developed for the computation of the dynamic evolution of molecular weight distributions (MWDs) during nonlinear emulsion polymerization reactions. To allow the direct computation of the whole MWD, an adaptive orthogonal collocation technique was applied. The model was validated with experimental methyl methacrylate/butylacrylate (BuA) semicontinuous and vinyl acrylate (VA)/Veova10 continuous emulsion polymerization results. Both systems considered introduce significant chain‐transfer reactions to polymer chains as a result of the presence of BuA and VA, respectively. The model developed was able to represent quite properly the kinetics and MWD of polymer samples during emulsion polymerizations. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3513–3528, 2001     

Study of emulsion polymerization stabilized by amphiphilic polymer nanoparticles

Submicron-sized polystyrene (PS) microspheres with a relatively narrow particle size distribution can be easily produced through emulsion polymerization induced by γ-ray at room temperature using a new type of amphiphilic cross-linked poly(stearyl methacrylate-co-acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) particles as stabilizer. The properties of these amphiphilic particles were described, including morphology, size, ζ potential, and contact angles. The effect of the pH value and the content of amphiphilic particles on the formation and stability of emulsions were also investigated. Meanwhile, the obtained PS microspheres were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In addition, through observing the morphology and size of emulsion droplets at different times under an optical microscope, we found it is interesting that Pickering emulsions formed initially disappeared gradually, which is different from the common Pickering emulsions stabilized by inorganic particles. Thus, the mechanism was further discussed.     

Preparation of polysaccharide-coated nanoparticles by emulsion polymerization of styrene

It is the aim of this paper to describe the preparation of polysaccharide-coated nanoparticles by direct emulsion polymerization of styrene in the presence of native dextran. In spite of the lack of surface-active properties of native dextran, stable latexes with very low amount of coagulate were obtained. Particle size decreased with dextran concentration and molecular weight. The amount of permanently adsorbed dextran was determined by direct titration of the polysaccharide present on the surface of the nanoparticles. A maximum value of 2.5 mg m⁻² was found. Zeta-potential measurements allowed us to estimate the thickness of the hydrophilic layer, which regularly increased with dextran aqueous concentration. The dextran-coated polystyrene nanoparticles were stable in concentrated NaCl solutions and could be redispersed after freeze-drying. The mechanism of chemical modification of dextran was studied by nuclear magnetic resonance and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight spectrometry studies. Graft copolymers are supposed to be formed.     

High molecular weight and low dispersity polyacrylonitrile by low temperature RAFT polymerization

High molecular weight polyacrylonitrile (PAN) with low dispersity has been successfully synthesized utilizing reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. A comprehensive study was performed to understand the influence of reaction temperature, RAFT agent structure, and [M]₀:[CTA]₀[I]₀ on the polymerization kinetics, molecular weight, and dispersity. Enhanced control is attributed to reduction of side reactions by conducting the polymerization at lower temperature, and optimizing the radical exchange between active and dormant states via appropriate selection of RAFT agent and initiator. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 553–562