| Abstract: | Stable dispersions of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanoparticles in the size range between 100 nm < d < 180 nm were made by polymerization in miniemulsion and characterized by dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and wide angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS). Due to the insolubility of the polymer in its monomer, such particles are not accessible by classical emulsion polymerization. The pure PAN particles are composed of ca. 10 nm large polymer nanocrystals, i. e., the formed polymer precipitates and crystallizes direct after formation. As a consequence, the final latexes do not adopt spherical shape, but show a well defined, narrowly distributed boulder‐like phenotype which is called “crumpled latexes”. Copolymerization with styrene results in a continuous transition between the crumpled and a smooth spherical morphology, which is again related to a decreased degree of crystallinity. |
