Aggregation phenomena in the suspension polymerization of VCM

In the suspension polymerization of VCM, insoluble polymer particles are formed inside the monomer droplets. The growth and aggregation of these particles are responsible for important polymer properties, such as porosity. It is well established that the most characteristic polymer particles, the primary particles, are of a narrow distribution with a size (diameter) ranging from 0.10–0.20 m. This work studied the formation of primary particles based on the aggregation phenomena that take place inside a monomer droplet. This was done by formulating a population balance equation, which was based on the following considerations: a) polymerization occurs in both the monomer and the polymer phases; b) there is continuous formation of the basic particles in the monomer phase; c) the growth of the polymer particles occurs as a result of both polymerization in the polymer phase and aggregation of the particles; d) the colloidal properties of the particles that are responsible for the aggregation phenomena were considered to be the net result of attraction and repulsion energies.It was shown that for particles carrying a constant charge it was not possible to predict the formation of primary particles of size 0.10–0.20 m. The particle size distribution had a mode diameter equal to the diameter of the basic particles. Consequently, the particle charge was allowed to vary in a way proportional to the particle radius raised to a power coefficient. For values of the coefficient greater than zero, i. e., when the particle charge increased during polymerization, the aggregation of the basic particles was efficient enough to result in the formation of large primary particles.     

纳米金刚石解团聚的一种新方法——石墨化-氧化法

用炸药爆炸法制备的纳米金刚石(ND)是由直径为4～6 nm的金刚石微晶粒组成，但这种纳米晶粒相互团聚，形成尺寸大得多的团聚体，至今尚未找到很有效的解团聚方法.该文提出了一种可用于这种纳米金刚石解团聚的新方法——石墨化－氧化法.将纳米金刚石粉在氮气中1 000 ℃加热1 h，这时纳米颗粒表面和界面上生成石墨层，再用在空气中450 ℃氧化的方法，将界面上的石墨层除去.将经过这样处理后的样品放入水中用超声波分散后，超过50％（质量百分数）的金刚石颗粒可以被分散到直径小于50 nm.可见这种方法对纳米金刚石的解团聚有一定的效果.但是同时也生成了一部分尺寸更大的团聚体，认为可能是生成了颗粒间的C-O-C键，需要进一步用适当的化学方法进行解离.对这一过程的机理进行了初步讨论.     

Aggregation of nanosized colloidal silica in the presence of various alkali cations investigated by the electrospray technique

The slow aggregation process of a concentrated silica dispersion (Bindzil 40/220) in the presence of alkali chlorides (LiCl, NaCl, KCl, RbCl, and CsCl) was investigated by means of mobility measurements. At intervals during the aggregation, particles and aggregates were transferred from the liquid phase to the gas phase via electrospray (ES) and subsequently size selected and counted using a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS). This method enables the acquisition of particle and aggregate size distributions with a time resolution of minutes. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the method has been applied to study the process of colloidal aggregation. The obtained results indicate that, independent of the type of counterion, a sufficient dilution of the formed gel will cause the particles to redisperse. Hence, the silica particles are, at least initially, reversibly aggregated. The reversibility of the aggregation indicates additional non-DLVO repulsive steric interactions that are likely due to the presence of a gel layer at the surface. The size of the disintegrating aggregates was monitored as a function of the time after dilution. It was found that the most stable aggregates were formed by the ions that adsorb most strongly on the particle surface. This attractive effect was ascribed to an ion-ion correlation interaction.     

Light Absorption by the Clusters of Colloidal Gold and Silver Particles Formed During Slow and Fast Aggregation

Spectra of absorption (400–800 nm) by the aggregates of colloidal gold (5, 15, and 30 nm in diameter) and silver (20 nm in diameter) particles were studied experimentally and theoretically. It was revealed that, during fast aggregation corresponding to the diffusion-limited cluster aggregation (DLCA), the pattern of spectra is dependent on the size of primary particles. Spectra with the additional absorption maximum in the red region are observed for 15 and 30 nm gold and 20 nm silver particles, while the absorption spectrum for 5 nm particles is characterized by only one maximum shifted to the red region. The slow aggregation resulted in a decrease in plasmon absorption peak with no marked shift to the red region and to the broadening of long-wave absorption wing. From data on electron microscopy, typical branched DLCA-clusters were formed during fast aggregation, whereas small compact aggregates and a noticeable number of single particles were observed in a system during slow aggregation. The computer model of the diffusion-limited cluster-cluster aggregation was used to explain these results. Optical properties of aggregates were calculated using coupled dipole method (CDM or DDA) and the exact method of a multipole expansion. Corrections for the size effect were introduced into the bulk optical constants of metals for nanosized particles. It was shown that a modified version of DDA (Markel et al.,Phys. Rev. B, 1996, vol. 53, no. 5, p. 2425) allows us to explain the pattern of experimental spectra of DLCA-aggregates and their dependence on a monomer size. The exact method was applied to calculate the extinction cross sections of metallic aggregates demonstrating strong electrodynamic interaction between particles. The number of higher multipoles that are required to adequately describe this interaction is much larger than the number of terms of an ordinary Mie series and is the main obstacle to the exact calculation of the spectra of metallic aggregates with a large number of particles.     

无皂乳液聚合中单分散粒子的形成过程

在少量双官能团水溶性共单体(磺化丁二酸-聚乙二醇-烯丙基缩水甘油醚酯)存在下进行MMA/BA无皂乳液聚合,用CoulterLS230激光粒径分析仪研究了乳胶粒子的成核机理和单分散粒子的形成过程.乳胶粒子的成粒过程属多步成粒机理:先均相成核,形成不稳定的初始粒子,然后凝聚成稳定乳胶粒,其粒径分布经历了先变宽后变窄的过程,这是聚合过程中成核-凝聚-增长共同作用,相互竞争的结果.它还导致聚合初期出现周期成核的现象.     

Synthesis and colloidochemical properties of yttrium oxohydroxyde hydrosols

Abstaract  It is shown that hydrosols of oxygen-containing compounds of yttrium may be prepared by the peptization and condensation methods. Basic characteristics of hydrosols, such as the size and shape of particles, their phase compositions, electrophoretic mobility, and the pH range of the dispersion medium where sols are stable with respect to aggregation, are determined. Coagulation thresholds of the sols are estimated in the presence of sodium nitrate and sulfate. It is found that the hydrosols coagulate reversibly. Concentration and aging of the sols give rise to the spontaneous formation of slightly structured thixotropic gels. The nature of the aggregation stability of hydrosols is suggested. Original Russian Text ? I.A. Belova, K.I. Kienskaya, A.S. Grodskii, V.V. Nazarov, 2008, published in Kolloidnyi Zhurnal, 2008, Vol. 70, No. 5, pp. 601–606.     

Fractal Characterization of Silica Sol Prepared by the Sol-Gel Method: From the Sol Formation to the Flocculation Process

The fractal characterization of silica particles prepared by the sol-gel method was obtained; from the beginning of the sol-gel synthesis to the aggregation process of these particles by adding metal ions in solution, the fractal dimension was determined. At the beginning of the sol-gel process, unstable structures were formed due, essentially, to the auto-catalytic nature of the sol-gel condensation reactions; these particles are fractal structures with a fractal exponent corresponding to a reaction limited aggregation regime. As the time proceeds, the reactants are consumed approaching the system to equilibrium, stabilizing the size of the silica particles. The silica sol can be flocculated by adding metal ions in solution. The fractal exponent for the aggregation process was determined, obtaining a value corresponding to a diffusion limited aggregation regime.     

STUDY ON THE FORMATION MECHANISM OF MONODISPERSE PARTICLES IN THE EMULSIFIER-FREE EMULSION POLYMEAIZATION OF METHYL METHACRYLATE AND BUTYL ACRYLATE

The formation mechanism of monodisperse polymer latex particles in the emulsifier-free emulsion polymerizationof methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate with potassium persulfate as initiator was investigated. A multi-step formationmechanism for the monodisperse polymer particles was proposed. The nucleation mechanism is considered to be thecoagulation of the precursor particles by homogeneous nucleation when the primary particles reach a critical size with highsurface charge density and sufficient stability. It had been proved by a special experiment that the early latex particles formedby the coagulation were stable. The primary particles grow by absorbing monomers and radicals in the polymerization systemand then become colloidally unstable again due to the understandable decrease of particle surface charge density, which leadsto the aggregation of the growing particles and the formation of larger latex pedicles therefrom. Aner the nucleation period,the preferential aggregation of the smaller particles in the propagation process leads to the change of the particles towards auniform size and narrower particle size distribution. The coexistence and competition of homogeneous nucleation,coagulation, propagation and aggregation result in the increase of the polydispersity index (U = D_(43)/D_(10)) in the first Stage,then its decrease in the later stage because of the competition of propagation and aggregation, and the gradual formation ofthe monodisperse particles.     

MMA/BA/聚乙二醇马来酸单酯钠盐无皂乳液聚合的成粒机理

研究了在少量聚乙二醇马来酸单酯钠盐存在下,MMA/BA无皂乳液聚合成粒过程,发现聚合初期产生的初级粒子消失后,两次周期性地产生小粒子。经分析,是新的成核作用产生的,表明在聚合的中晚期,成核过程并未真正结束,而是处于成核-聚并的动态平衡之中。     

AN ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY STUDY ON THE AGGREGATION OF ISOTACTIC POLY（METHYL METHACRYLATE）

Aggregation process of isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) (i-PMMA) has been studied extensively for many years, and considerable progress has been made in both experimental and theoretical studies. They are, however, seldom sustained by real-space observations of the underlying morphology. In this paper, the aggregation process of i-PMMA in concentrated acetone solutions and the fractal structure of the resulting three-dimensional clusters were characterized on the basis of real-space AFM observations of their two-dimensional projection. It was found that spherical multiple-chain particles formed upon collapse and aggregation of the involving chains as a whole during quenching the solution to room temperature. By keeping the solution at room temperature, the initially formed particles stick together upon contact to form larger particles through reassembling very slowly. The succeeding collision of the enlarged spherical particles leads to the formation of small clusters. These newly formed small clusters grow when they meet with other clusters or single Brownian particles. This leads to the formation of large clusters with fractal dimension of 1.95$±0.05, which suggest a reaction-limited cluster aggregation of i-PMMA in a concentrated acetone solution. This is in accordance with the conclusion obtained by light scattering measurements.     

生物基碳包覆纳米材料(Mn,Co)的制备

提出了一种制备碳包覆纳米材料的新方法.以生物蛋白为前驱体材料，蛋白质肽链构成的空心结构作为合成碳包覆纳米材料的模板反应器;在热处理时，蛋白肽链发生分解,残留的碳作为碳源形成富勒烯类空心纳米材料的壳体，并将填充在蛋白质空心结构内部的金属材料包覆起来.以此技术制备了铁磁性金属锰和钴的碳包覆纳米级材料，初步验证是可行的.讨论了蛋白的矿化组装和蛋白的炭化反应机理.     

Synthesis of hydrosols of oxygen-containing cobalt compounds

A procedure is developed for the synthesis of hydrosols of oxygen-containing cobalt compounds. The hydrosols are stable to aggregation for several weeks in the absence of additional stabilizers. It is established that the synthesized hydrosols contain crystalline particles formed from a mixture of CoO(OH) and Co₃O₄. According to transmission electron microscopy data, the most probable diameter of the particles is about 30 nm. The hydrosols are stable to aggregation at pH 6.2?C8.0. In this pH range, the particles are positively charged and the values of their electrokinetic potential are no higher than 10 mV.     

Separation of cationic polymer particles and characterization of avidin-immobilized particles by capillary electrophoresis

Cationic polymer microparticles have received much attention especially in the field of biotechnology, such that their analysis and separation have become important. So far, the separation of cationic polymer particles with different size using CE has not been achieved and the cationic particles migrated as if they are negatively charged, probably due to electrostatic interaction between capillary wall and cationic polymer particles. In this paper, the separation of cationic polymer microparticles by CE was investigated in detail. The separation of cationic particles with different size was achieved in CE by taking into account the interaction between sample particles and the inner surface of capillaries. By employing a poly(vinyl alcohol)-coated capillary, a better size separation of amine-modified latex particles was obtained compared to a Polybrene-coated capillary. It was elucidated that the composition, concentration, and pH of the background solution were also important factors in the separation of colloidal particles to avoid the surface adsorption and the characteristic aggregation of polymer particles. Furthermore, the CE analysis was applied to the characterization of cationic protein-immobilized particles.     

Rapid preparation of uniform colloidal indium hydroxide by the controlled double-jet precipitation

The synthesis of uniform colloidal rod-like In(OH)₃ particles from relatively concentrated solutions of InCl₃ (0.1 mol dm^-3) in short reaction time (<15 min) by the controlled double-jet precipitation (CDJP) technique is described. The effects of the molar ratio of [NH₄OH]/[InCl₃], temperature, concentration of the reactants, and reaction time on the size and shape of the final products are investigated. It is found that such In(OH)₃ particles are formed by aggregation of nanosize subunits. Received: 14 April 1998 Accepted: 15 April 1998     

Control over structural-dimensional characteristics of tungsten disulfide particles in aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition

Solutions of ammonium thiotungstate in dimethylformamide were used to synthesize spherical tungsten disulfide particles with average radius of 500–100 nm by the method of aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Nanoparticles with composition close to stoichiometric tungsten disulfide are formed at pyrolysis temperatures not lower than 800°C. It was found that the average particle radius linearly decreases as the reagent concentration in solution becomes lower, and the nebulizer power has no effect within the range under study on the size characteristics and structure of the particles obtained. It was demonstrated that the particles have a layered structure that is formed in all probability by S–W–S packets, which must provide high antifriction properties of the material in its use as a high-temperature solid lubricant. The results obtained indicate that the size of tungsten disulfide particles can be controlled in a wide range in the course of the aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition. This may be of interest for developing a technology for creating high-temperature wear-resistant antifriction coatings.     

Effect of a low-molecular-weight salt on colloidal dispersions of interpolyelectrolyte complexes

Colloidal dispersions of an interpolyelectrolyte complex were prepared by mixing dilute aqueous solutions of poly(dimethyldiallylammonium chloride) and the sodium salt of the alternating copolymer of maleic acid propene in amounts providing about a threefold excess of the charged groups of the cationic polyelectrolyte over those of the anionic polyelectrolyte. These dispersions were examined by means of analytical sedimentation, quasielastic light scattering, and laser Doppler microelectrophoresis. The experimental results obtained suggest that the particles of the interpolyelectrolyte complex are multicomplex aggregates bearing cationic charge. Such aggregates were assumed to consist of a hydrophobic core formed by coupled oppositely charged macromolecules and a hydrophilic shell formed by cationic macromolecules. Hydrodynamic and electrophoretic properties of these aggregates were found to be rather sensitive to variations in the ionic strength of the surrounding medium: with rising salt concentration, their sedimentation coefficient and hydrodynamic size increase, these increases becoming more strongly pronounced at higher salt concentrations, whereas their electrophoretic mobility gradually decreases. The salt effects revealed suggest that the aggregation level of the particles of the interpolyelectrolyte complex rises in response to an increase in the ionic strength of the surrounding medium. This phenomenon was associated with the salt-induced decrease of the stabilizing effect of the hydrophilic shells that protect such particles from progressive aggregation. Received: 15 May 1998 Accepted in revised form: 28 August 1998     

Studies on the ultra-fine transition metal particles dispersed in polymer matrix

A series of complexes of styrene-4-vinylpyridine copolymers (SVP) or poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PVP) and transition metal chlorides were prepared. The transition metal-polymer complexes were used to prepare the ultra-fine metallic particles dispersed in polymer matrix by chemical reduction. The effects of the ion concentration and the polymer backbone on the size of these metal particles were studied. It was found that the transition metal ions may coordinate to pyridine groups in precursor polymers after blending. Upon reduction, the metal ions were transformed into the corresponding metal particles in the range of nanometer scale. The protective polymers take an important role to prevent metal particles from oxidation and excessive aggregation.     

Aggregation in dilute aqueous tert-butyl alcohol solutions: insights from large-scale simulations

Molecular dynamics simulations employing up to 64,000 particles are used to investigate aggregation and microheterogeneity in aqueous tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) solutions for TBA mole fractions X(t) ≤ 0.1. Four different force fields are considered. It is shown that the results obtained can be strongly dependent on the particular force field employed, and can be significantly influenced by system size. Two of the force fields considered show TBA aggregation in the concentration range X(t) ≈ 0.03 - 0.06. For these models, systems of 64,000 particles are minimally sufficient to accommodate the TBA aggregates. The structures resulting from TBA aggregation do not have a well-defined size and shape, as one might find in micellar systems, but are better described as TBA-rich and water-rich regions. All pair correlation functions exhibit long-range oscillatory behavior with wavelengths that are much larger than molecular length scales. The oscillations are not strongly damped and the correlations can easily exceed the size of the simulation cell, even for the low TBA concentrations considered here. We note that these long-range correlations pose a serious problem if one wishes to obtain certain physical properties such as Kirkwood-Buff integrals from simulation results. In contrast, two other force fields that we consider show little sign of aggregation for X(t) ? 0.08. In our 64,000 particle simulations all four models considered show demixing-like behavior for X(t) ? 0.1, although such behavior is not evident in smaller systems of 2000 particles. The meaning of the demixing-like behavior is unclear. Since real TBA-water solutions do not demix, it might be an indication that all four models we consider poorly represent the real system. Alternatively, it might be an artifact of finite system size. Possibly, the apparent demixing indicates that for X(t) ? 0.1, the stable TBA aggregates are simply too large to fit into the simulation cell. Our results provide a view of the possible nature of microheterogeneity in dilute TBA-water solutions, and of the associated long correlation lengths. It is clear that system size can be a very important factor in simulations of these solutions, and must be taken into account in the evaluation and development of TBA-water force fields.     

Synthesis of cadmium sulphide in pure and mixed Langmuir-Blodgett films of n -octadecylsuccinic acid

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) nanoparticles were grown by the reaction of sodium sulphide (Na₂S) with Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of cadmium salts ofn-octadecylsuccinic acid (ODSU) and with LB films of ODSU in mixtures of octadecylamine and octadecyl alcohol. The results indicate that heterogeneous nucleation and aggregation in the pure ODSU LB films due to processes like Ostwald ripening are destabilized by the presence of the long-chain amine and alcohol in mixed systems. CdS nanoparticles in the LB films were monitored by UV-visible absorption spectra, which allow an estimation of the size of the particles. The morphology, size and nature of the nanocrystallites formed depend on whether the sulphidation was done on the pure film or in the mixed films. It is seen that particles of size around 1.6 nm were formed in ODSU/octadecylalcohol and ODSU/ octadecylamine mixed LB films while in pure ODSU films the size was about 2.7 nm. These films showed typical needle-shaped structures, as observed by the optical microscopic technique. Mean size and morphology were confirmed by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, while selective area electron diffraction patterns showed six-fold symmetry and indicated that the CdS crystals grow epitaxially with respect to the monolayer. Further, the crystallisation enhanced in the mixed LB films showed a characteristic zinc oxide (Wurtzite) structure compared with the pure ODSU matrix.     

Theoretical and experimental study of one-dimensional syneresis of a protein gel

Gels formed by macromolecules or solid particles in a solvent by physical aggregation may show syneresis, because such a gel is usually very inhomogeneous and many additional cross-links or points of contact may be formed after gelation. This causes a stress in the gel matrix which may lead to syneresis, i.e. shrinkage of the gel matrix and expulsion of solvent. The syneresis can be described by applying Darcy's law, but syneresis pressure and permeability of the gel both change with time and with spatial location. Moreover external pressure (caused by gravity for example may enhance syneresis. A numerical mathematical model was developed which takes these complications into account for one-dimensional syneresis. The results of the calculations were compared with those of experiments on gels formed from skim milk by renneting. Good agreement was obtained. The syneresis pressure was found to be very low, of the order of 1 Pa.