Interpenetrating polymer networks templated on bicontinuous microemulsions containing silicone oil, methacrylic acid, and hydroxyethyl methacrylate

Polydimethylsiloxane-poly(methacrylic acid—hydroxyethyl methacrylate) interpenetrating polymer networks (PDMS-P(MAA–HEMA) IPN) were formulated and polymerized simultaneously from bicontinuous microemulsion templates. Microemulsions containing reactive silicone oils and MAA/HEMA in aqueous solution were stabilized with silicone surfactants, and were then reacted at 50 °C for 3 h under an N₂ atmosphere. The formation of bicontinuous morphology was confirmed by laser scanning confocal microscopy, reversible swelling behavior, differential scanning calorimetry, texture analysis, and permeability to vitamin B₁₂ in aqueous solution. Incorporating polymerizable surfactants into the microemulsion aided in stabilizing the initial microemulsion structure during polymerization, yielding a more uniform IPN morphology with domain sizes of <200 nm at equilibrium swelling. The process developed here demonstrates a simple, single-step polymerization approach to forming IPNs from low viscosity microemulsion templates, and could potentially be extended to a variety of hydrophilic and hydrophobic monomers.     

Sugar-based microemulsion glass templates

Complex fluids comprising of surfactants with water and/or oil form a rich variety of dynamic self-assembled structures, ranging from spherical swollen micelles, viscous rod-like micelles, and bicontinuous microemulsions to ordered liquid crystalline phases. The wide range of practical and specialized applications of complex fluids has made them the subject of intense research for many decades. Here, we demonstrate for the first time how bicontinuous microemulsions containing equal masses of oil and sugar can be driven to the glassy state without phase separation at ambient temperatures by controlled desiccation of sugar-rich microemulsions. The robust nanostructure of these microemulsion glasses allows polymerization of hydrophobic liquid monomers within the interstices of the glassy microemulsion template without macroscopic phase separation. Yet after polymerization, the sugar and surfactant template can be easily removed by dissolution in water.     

双连续相微乳液辐射聚合制备多孔材料的研究

利用6 0 Co γ射线在室温下辐照双连续相微乳液体系以制备多孔聚合物材料 ,试图在控制多孔材料的微孔结构形态和减少微乳液聚合过程中的相分离方面做一些探索 .通过电导率的测量分析微乳液的结构类型 ,并确定微乳液的双连续相区域范围 .微乳液聚合后所得的样品的孔结构和聚合前的微乳液结构类型有关 ,扫描电镜和热重分析的结果表明双连续相微乳液在聚合时容易发生相分离 ,未必能够得到开孔结构的聚合物 .但适当控制聚合前微乳液的组成 ,如选择合适的水油比例、交联剂的用量和加入一些功能性单体 (如甲基丙烯酸或丙烯酸钠 ) ,可以有效地抑制相分离 ,调节所得聚合物的结构形态 .     

Gelled polymerizable microemulsions. 2. Microstructure

Using bicontinuous microemulsions as templates opens a new field for the design of novel structures and thus novel materials, but has significant challenges due to the very small composition and temperature windows in which microemulsions are bicontinuous. In previous work we had shown that we can take a ternary base system (water-n-dodecane--C 13/15E 5), add monomer and cross-linker ( N-isopropylacrylamide and N, N'-methylenebisacrylamide) to the water phase, and add a gelator (12-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid) to the oil phase while remaining in the one-phase region of the phase diagram. It was also possible to allow the gelator to form an organogel by changing the temperature such that we crossed the sol--gel line, which fell within the one-phase region. In this work, we show conclusively that addition of the monomers and the gelator does not affect the microemulsion microstructure and that, even in the gelled state, the polymerizable microemulsion is indeed bicontinuous. 1H NMR self-diffusion, conductivity, and small-angle neutron scattering measurements all confirm the bicontinuous nature of the gelled polymerizable microemulsion.     

Nano-structured proton exchange membranes molded by polymerizing bi-continuous microemulsion

A unique type of nano-structured proton exchange membrane (PEM) has been fabricated through photo-polymerizing a bicontinuous microemulsion. This microemulsion is constituted by a polymerizable zwitterionic surfimer 3-((11-acryloyloxyundecyl)imidazoyl)propyl sulfonate (AIPS), 3-sulfopropylmethacrylate, potassium salt (SPM), acrylonitrile and water. As the resulting colloidal system maintains quasi-homogeneous state throughout the polymerization course, the inherent bicontinuous microemulsion structure was successfully transferred to the matrix of the polymer membrane. Such membranes are therefore composed of dual phase channels with ca. 1.5–2 nm of the hydrophilic channel breadth. This particular structural trait imparts to the membranes excellent proton conductivities of up to 10⁻¹ S cm⁻¹ as well as low methanol permeability. The DMFC single cell loaded with the demo PEM manifests ca. 20 mW cm⁻² of power output. The attributes of this PEM are elucidated from the bicontinuous structure of microemulsion.     

Photoinitiated polymerization in bicontinuous microemulsions: Fluorescence monitoring

The photopolymerization of bicontinuous microemulsions was simultaneously monitored with differential scanning calorimetry and fluorescence. The kinetics and mechanism of the reaction were studied throughout the entire photopolymerization reaction. The role played by the surfactant in the kinetics and morphology was studied. The nature of the surfactant changed the autoacceleration process and final conversion. The behavior was explained as a result of the differences in the interfacial properties. Anionic cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) gave rise to a more flexible interfacial film than anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), resulting in competition between the intramolecular and intermolecular reactions in the former systems. As cyclization did not contribute to the increase in the degree of crosslinking, SDS photopolymerization gave solids with a more rigid microstructure. Fluorescence methodology was applied to monitor bicontinuous microemulsion polymerization and to reveal the microstructure and morphology development during photopolymerization. The microemulsion composition was designed to prepare nanoporous, crosslinked materials. Even though the nanostructure of the precursor microemulsions was not retained because of phase separation during polymerization, mesoporous solids were obtained. Their morphologies depended on the nature of the surfactant, and membranes with open cells were successfully prepared with CTAB, whereas more complex morphologies resulted with SDS. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 5291–5303, 2006     

微乳液聚合制备多孔高吸油甲基丙烯酸酯类树脂的研究

研究了双连续相微乳液聚合制备多孔高吸油树脂,以甲基丙烯酸甲酯(MMA)、丙烯酸丁酯(BA)为共聚单体(油相),水(H2O)/乙醇(EtOH)为混合水相,2,2′-偶氮二异丁腈(AIBN)为引发剂,采用十二烷基硫酸钠(SDS)和复配十二烷基硫酸钠/吐温80(SDS/T80)两种乳化体系,调节油相和水相比例,配制出双连续相微乳液.聚合在无搅拌下进行.研究了乳化体系、混合水相含量、单体配比、交联剂和引发剂用量等因素对树脂吸油性能的影响.结果表明,多孔高吸油树脂比同系无孔树脂的吸油速率大大提高,最快可以在2min内达到吸油饱和.树脂对苯,四氢呋喃,四氯化碳的吸油倍率分别达到15.5g/g,15.5g/g,31.7g/g.     

微乳液聚合制备透明丙烯酸酯多孔共聚物

多孔聚丙烯酸酯;引发;微乳液聚合制备透明丙烯酸酯多孔共聚物     

Polymerised bicontinuous microemulsions as stationary phases for capillary electrochromatography

Summary Polymerisation of bicontinuous microemulsions yields porous monolithic structures with well defined pore sizes that are potentially suitable for use as stationary phases for capillary electrochromatography (CEC). A variety of pore sizes can be achieved by altering the composition of the microemulsion, which typically consists of butyl methacrylate (BMA) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the polymerisable oil phase. The aqueous phase consists of water, a surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulphate, SDS) and a co-surfactant (1-propanol). 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid (AMPS) is also added to provide charges along the polymer backbone to allow electroosmotic flow (EOF) to occur. SEM analysis shows that in-situ polymerisation yields a monolithic structure with a porous topography. Investigations have shown that these monoliths are easy to prepare, robust and suitable for the separation of phthalates. They generate higher linear velocities than are achieved using the silica based HPLC packings normally used for CEC.     

Fabrication study of polysulfone hollow-fiber microfiltration membranes: Optimal dope viscosity for nucleation and growth

Fabrication of polysulfone hollow-fiber microfiltration membranes through non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) by dry–wet spinning was studied. For all sample preparations, we used N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) as solvent, polyethylene glycol (PEG) as additive, aqueous NMP solution as bore liquid, and water as coagulation bath. Particular focus was placed on the influence of PEG molecular weight (Mw) on membrane structure. Characterization of the obtained membranes was performed by measuring pure water permeate flux, tensile strength, and tensile elongation at break, and by analyzing scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of hollow-fiber cross-sections, outer surfaces, and inner surfaces.     

微乳液催化苯乙烯聚合反应

微乳液催化苯乙烯聚合反应１）郝京诚汪汉卿２）（中国科学院兰州化学物理研究所兰州７３００００）石元昌李干佐（山东大学胶体与界面化学研究所济南２５０１００）关键词微乳液催化苯乙烯聚合微乳液［１］是油、水、表面活性剂和助表面活性剂在适当比例下自发形成的热力...     

Effect of the structures of microemulsions on chemical reactions

Two kinds of chemical reactions were studied in two different microemulsion systems: cetyltrimethylammonium bromide/1-butanol/10 and 25% n-octane/water and sodium dodecyl sulfonate/1-butanol/20% styrene/water. One reaction is a hydrolysis reaction, in which aspirin and 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene were used as the hydrolysis substrates. The second reaction is the polymerization of styrene, which was initiated by using two initiators, water-soluble K₂S₂O₈ and oil-soluble 2,2′-azobis(isobutyronitrile), and, at the same time, the polymerization of acrylamide, which was initiated by NaHSO₃, was also studied. All the hydrolysis reaction experimental results show that the hydrolysis is greatly affected by the structures and the structural transitions of microemulsions. The hydrolysis rates are higher in water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsion media and decrease with the addition of water. The rates increase in bicontinuous (BC) microemulsions and decrease in oil-in-water (O/W) microemulsions. The transition points of the hydrolysis rates occurred at the two microemulsion structural transition points from W/O to BC and from BC to O/W. The polymerization relationships between the conversions of styrene, the molecular weights of polystyrene and the water contents of the microemulsion system were obtained. The effects of microemulsion structures on the sizes of the polystyrene particles and on the molecular weights of the polymers are discussed. Polystyrene particles with diameters of 10–60 nm were observed by microscopy. Our experimental polymerization results show that microemulsions are suitable as media for the production of polymers, the molecular weights and the particle sizes of which can be controlled and predicted by variations in microemulsion structures. Received: 11 July 1999/Accepted: 26 July 1999     

DISPERSION POLYMERIZATION OF STYRENE STARTING FROM MICROEMULSIONS

The domains of homogeneity for the systems containing styrene - alcohol (methanol, isopropanol, t-butanol) - water are investigated. These ones represent the reaction medium of dispersion polymerization The domains of homogeneity increase with increasing the hydrocarbon chain of the cosurfactant and in the presence of surfactants. Conductometric and refractometric studies have established that the homogeneous systems obtained in the presence of monomaleate of nonylphenol ethoxylated with 25 moles ethylene oxide, in a concentration of 10% based on the above-mentioned mixture, are microemulsions with oil-in-water (o/ w) bicontinuous or water-in-oil (w/ o) structure. In the presence of 10% bismethacrylate of PEG 1500 or 5% bismethacrylate of PEG 1500 and 5% acrylic acid, based on styrene, the domains of homogeneity are smaller, but the character of microemulsion is preserved. The latexes prepared by polymerizing styrene dispersed in microemulsions display larger particle diameter in case of isopropanol, owing to partial swelling.     

Lipase-catalyzed enantioselective esterifications using different microemulsion-based gels

Chiral esters with high optical purity have been synthesized at 298.2 K from racemic 2-octanol and alkanoic acids using the commerical lipases fromChromobacterium viscosum (CV) orCandida sp. (SP 525) immobilized in microemulsion-based gelatin gels. The microemulsions consisted of water and alkanes stabilized by the anionic surfactant sodium 1,4-bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) and the naturally occurring zwitterionic surfactant soybean lecithin, respectively. The enzymes were solubilized both in water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsions and in microemulsions with a bicontinuous structure. Different microstructures of the gels were chosen since the enzyme may undergo conformational changes in different environments resulting in different catalytic efficiencies toward competing substrates. Therefore, it is of great fundamental interest to know the phase behaviour and the microstructures of the used microemulsion systems. Phase diagrams were determined at 298.2 K for the systems water-hexane-AOT and ethanol/water (11)-hexadecane-soybean lecithin. The former system exhibited a large one-phase W/O microemulsion region, while in the latter a small one-phase region with bicontinuous structure was present. The kinetic enantiomeric ratios (E-values), as determined from enantiomeric excess (e.e.) values at a conversion below 0.5, were higher both in the W/O microemulsion as well as in the bicontinuous microemulsion using the SP 525 lipase, than using the CV lipase. On the other hand, the conversions were higher using gels based on W/O microemulsions (AOT stabilized) than using gels based on microemulsions with a bicontinuous structure (lecithin stabilized).     

Microemulsion polymerization: phase behavior driven mechanistic changes

We have examined the phase behavior of anionic microemulsions of the general type water/NaCl–hexyl methacrylate (C₆MA)-bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulfosuccinate (AOT)/sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) with respect to temperature and composition. Monomer partitioning measurements and kinetic experiments show good agreement with the Morgan model (de Vries et al. in Macromolecules 34:3233, 2001) for droplet-type microemulsions that do not phase separate as monomer is consumed. In contrast, balanced microemulsions, which efficiently solubilize large amounts of monomer, exhibit dramatic effects on the polymerization kinetics as the phase behavior changes. Our findings suggest that the appearance of a liquid crystalline mesophase in the binary water–surfactant system of the respective microemulsion causes a phase separation during polymerization and, thus, a severe deviation from previous mechanistic models.     

Microemulsion polymerization of acrylamide and styrene: Effect of the structures of reaction media

Isothermal phase diagrams of the system cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)/n‐butanol/n‐octane/water were constructed, and the effect of the oil (n‐octane) contents on the microemulsions was studied at 40 °C. We determined the microemulsion structures of two systems, CTAB/n‐butanol/10% n‐octane/water and sodium dodecyl sulfonate (As)/n‐butanol/20% styrene/water, by conductivity measurements to investigate the polymerization of acrylamide and styrene in the two microemulsion systems. The polymerization kinetics of the water‐soluble monomer acrylamide in CTAB micelles and the different CTAB/n‐butanol/10% n‐octane/water microemulsion media [water‐in‐oil (W/O), bicontinuous (BC), and oil‐in‐water (O/W)] were studied with water‐soluble sodium bisulfite as the initiator. The maximum polymerization rate in CTAB micelles was found at the second critical micelle concentration. A mechanism of polyacrylamide formation and growth was proposed. A connection between the structures of the microemulsions and the polymerization rates was observed; the maximum polymerization rate occurred at two transition points, from W/O to BC and from BC to O/W, and the polyacrylamide molecular weights, which depended on the structures of the microemulsions, were also found. A square‐root dependence of the polymerization rates on the initiator concentrations was obtained in CTAB micelles and O/W microemulsion media. The polymerization of the oil‐soluble monomer styrene in different As/n‐butanol/20% styrene/water microemulsion media (W/O, BC, and O/W) was also investigated with different initiators: water‐soluble potassium persulfate and oil‐soluble azobisisobutyronitrile. A similar connection between the structures of the microemulsions and the conversions of styrene in CTAB/n‐butanol/10% n‐octane/water for the polymerization of acrylamide was observed again. The structures of the microemulsions had an important role in the molecular weights and sizes of polystyrene. The polystyrene particles were 10–20 nm in diameter in BC microemulsion media and 30–60 nm in diameter in O/W microemulsion media according to transmission electron microscopy. We determined the solubilization site of styrene in O/W microemulsion drops by ¹H NMR spectra to analyze the results of the microemulsion polymerization of styrene. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 3320–3334, 2001     

微乳液结构的研究

测定了十二烷基磺酸钠／正丁醇／２０％苯乙烯／水体系的相平衡，用冷冻刻蚀、ＥＳＲ、ＦＴ－ＩＲ研究了上述体系微乳液的结构，研究表明，苯乙烯含量恒定时，随着体系中水含量增加，电导确定的双连续结构的微乳液经历着从油包水到以连续再到水包油变化，ＦＴ－ＩＲ测定表明，Ｗ／Ｏ微乳兴较Ｏ／Ｗ微乳液的ＯＨ伸缩振动和弯曲振动频率有显著减小，说明Ｗ／Ｏ微乳兴中氢键缔合要比Ｏ／Ｗ强得多。ＥＳＲ测定表明Ｏ／Ｗ微乳液的旋转相关     

Solubilization of Celecoxib in Microemulsions Based on Mixed Nonionic Surfactants and Peppermint Oil

U-type microemulsions formulated with water, mixed nonionic surfactants, and peppermint oil were used to solubilize celecoxib. Microemulsion dilution and interfacial factors contributing to the celecoxib solubilization were evaluated. Celecoxib solubilization capacity decreases with the increase in the water content. Electrical conductivity, dynamic viscosity, and SAXS measurements reveal the structural transition occurring in the microemulsion region. It was found that below 0.25 aqueous phase volume fraction the water-in-oil microemulsions are present, the transition between the water-in-oil to bicontinuous and then to oil-in water microemulsions occur at 0.30 and 0.8 aqueous phase volume fraction, respectively. The results demonstrate that the solubilized drug affects the transition from bicontinuous to water-in-oil microemulsions. The solubilized drug increases the hydrodynamic radius of the oil-in-water microemulsion droplets measured by dynamic light scattering.     

Improved solubilization of Celecoxib in U-type nonionic microemulsions and their structural transitions with progressive aqueous dilution

Celecoxib (clxb) is an important drug for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis by specifically inhibiting the enzyme cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Clxb is a type 2 drug characterized by low water solubility (<5 mug/ml) and fast transmembrane transport. The present formulations require high dosage since the transmembrane transport fluctuates and is very difficult to control. Dissolving the drug within an oil phase was not practical since its dissolution was very small and its dispersion in water was impossible. In our recent studies, we learned to construct U-type phase diagrams and to formulate reverse microemulsions (oil-based concentrates) that are progressively and fully dilutable with aqueous phase. In the present study, we solubilized clxb in nanostructures of reverse micelles of U-type nonionic microemulsions that consisted of R(+)-limonene, alcohol, propylene glycol (PG), and hydrophilic surfactant (Tween 60). The solubilization capacity of the drug in these systems is many times higher than in either the oil or the aqueous phase. The clxb solubilized microemulsions are fully diluted with aqueous phase without phase separation. The solubilization capacity decreases as the water content increases. Electrical conductivity, viscosity, and self-diffusion (SD) coefficients of the microemulsion components were measured along a suitable water dilution line. The three major microemulsion regions were detected and the transitions between the W/O to bicontinuous phase and from this phase to the O/W droplets were identified (at 30 and 70 wt% aqueous phase, respectively). From the SD coefficients, it was found that the drug is initially solubilized at the interface of the W/O droplets and there are no significant structural changes. The transition to a bicontinuous phase occurs at the same water content as in the empty (i.e., without drug) system. From the viscosity profiles, we concluded that the drug affects the structure of the bicontinuous phase as reflected in the water content at which the oil-continuous network is destroyed and full inversion occurs (50 vs 55 wt% in the drug-loaded system). Upon further dilution the drug remains solubilized at the interface and is oriented with its hydrophilic part facing the water, and is strongly affects the inversion to O/W droplets. From Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) measurements we learned that the drug effects the structure of microemulsion droplets and forms "ill-defined structures," probably less spherical. Yet, the overall droplet sizes at the high dilutions did not change very much.     

Application of the cohesive energy ratio concept (CER) to the formation of polymerizable microemulsions

The cohesive energy ratio concept (CER) developed by Beerbower and Hill for the stabilization of emulsions has been extended to microemulsions. The CER concept allowed us to predict the most suitable emulsifiers and oils for the production of polymerizable microemulsions. For example, a blend of non-ionic surfactants (sorbitan sesqui-oleate and poly(oxyethylene) sorbitol hexaoleate) was found to be very efficient for the microemulsification of an aqueous solution of acrylamide in an isoparaffinic oil (Isopar M). Under these conditions, microemulsion polymerization leads to stable uniform polyacrylamide microlatexes ( d < 0.1 μm) which can be useful for industrial applications.