Poly(N-ethylmethacrylamide) thermally-sensitive microgel latexes: effect of the nature of the crosslinker on the polymerization kinetics and physicochemical properties

Thermally-sensitive crosslinked submicronic particles were prepared by an emulsion/precipitation process of N-ethylmethacrylamide (NEMAM), using potassium persulphate as initiator and four different crosslinkers; ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), 1,3-butanediol dimethacrylate (1,3-BDDMA), 1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate (1,4-BDDMA) and tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA). At first, polymerization kinetics was studied by NMR, revealing the negligible effect of the crosslinker nature. On the contrary, the water-soluble polymer amounts, the final hydrodynamic particle size, the swelling ability, the electrokinetic properties were found to be dependent upon the nature of crosslinker. The final latexes were found to be narrowly size distributed irrespective of the crosslinker agent’s chemical nature. In this study, the water solubility of the cross-linker was reported to be an important criterion, but other factors, such as diffusion and reactivity, have to be taken into consideration. To cite this article: P. Hazot et al., C. R. Chimie 6 (2003).