Kinetics of emulsion polymerization of styrene using the reactive surfactant HITENOL BC20

The effect of the reactive surfactant HITENOL BC20 (polyoxyethylene alkylphenyl ether ammonium sulfate; 20 U of ethylene oxide (EO)) on the emulsion polymerization of styrene was studied via reaction calorimetry (Mettler RC1; 70°C). For polymerizations carried out above the cmc of BC20, the reaction kinetics and evolution of the number of particles (N_p) resembled those reported using the conventional surfactant sodium lauryl sulfate, indicating that nucleation proceeded by a combination of micellar and homogenous nucleation (Interval I and Stage 2). The reaction rate (R_p) not only increased with increasing initiator (K₂S₂O₈) and surfactant concentrations, as expected, but the increase in rate in Stage 2 was dependent on the initiator concentration and independent of the surfactant concentration. This is consistent with the proposed nucleation mechanisms. The molecular weight increased with increasing surfactant concentration and decreasing initiator concentration as would also be expected for a conventional surfactant. The dependencies of R_p and N_p on the BC20 and initiator concentrations, however, were lower than the classical Smith‐Ewart values (R_p ∝ [E]^0.47–0.52; R_p ∝ [I]^0.21–0.25) although R_p was found to be directly proportional to N_p. Chain transfer to the reactive surfactant is considered a likely source of divergence. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(vinyl chloride‐co‐vinyl acetate)‐graft‐poly[(meth)acrylates] by atom transfer radical polymerization

The graft polymerization of methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate onto poly(vinyl chloride‐co‐vinyl acetate) with atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was successfully carried out with copper(I) thiocyanate/N,N,N′,N′,N″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine and copper(I) chloride/2,2′‐bipyridine as catalysts in the solvent N,N‐dimethylformamide. For methyl methacrylate, a kinetic plot of ln([M]₀/[M]) (where [M]₀ is the initial monomer concentration and [M] is the monomer concentration) versus time for the graft polymerization was almost linear, and the molecular weight of the graft copolymer increased with increasing conversion, this being typical for ATRP. The formation of the graft polymer was confirmed with gel permeation chromatography, ¹H‐NMR, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The glass‐transition temperature of the copolymer increased with the concentration of methyl methacrylate. The graft copolymer was hydrolyzed, and its swelling capacity was measured. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 183–189, 2005     

Synthesis of monodisperse styrene/methyl methacrylate/acrylic acid latex using surfactant‐free emulsion copolymerization in air

Monodisperse styrene/methyl methacrylate/acrylic acid (St/MMA/AA) copolymer microspheres have been prepared with surfactant‐free emulsion polymerization in air. The presence of oxygen in the system not only caused an induction period but also decreased the average particle size (D_p). However increasing AA concentration ([AA]) gave a reduction in the induction period. The FTIR and NMR analysis of the latex copolymer confirmed that the correlation of the copolymer compositions with the feed compositions was much better at the lower [AA] than at the higher levels. The AA contents of the copolymers obtained in air were much lower than those of the copolymers obtained under N₂ protection. Decreasing [AA] led to decrease in the copolymer molecular weight and broadening of the molecular weight distribution, but the particle size distribution (δ/D_p) was unaffected. In addition, the average particle diameter (D_p) was proportional to [AA]^–0.255, and increasing comonomers feed content caused linear increase of D_p, and a monodisperse sample with final solids contents up to 34.2 wt % was obtained. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Statistical experimental strategies approach to emulsion copolymerization of styrene and n-butyl acrylate

A batch emulsion copolymerization for the preparation of styrene-n-butylacrylate (St/BA) copolymer latexes is investigated. A series of n-butylacrylate-styrene copolymer latexes were obtained by emulsion copolymerization in the presence of K₂S₂O₈ (KPS) as initiator and with/without emulsifier (sodium lauryl sulfate). The effect of such preparation conditions as initiator concentration, the St/BA ratio, reaction temperature, agitation rate, and emulsifier concentration on the polymerization rate, particle size of copolymer latex, and molecular weight distribution of the resulting copolymer (∼ 80% conversion), respectively, is systematically studied using fractional factorial design methodology. Fractional factorial analysis indicates that the effects of the St/BA ratio, reaction temperature, emulsifier concentration, as well as the two-factor interaction of temperature and emulsifier concentration, are the key variables influencing the polymerization rate. At ∼ 80% monomer conversion, statistical analysis clearly isolates emulsifier concentration as the dominant factor affecting average particle size of copolymer latex; results also indicate that the effects of the St/BA ratio, reaction temperature, and emulsifier concentration are major effects influencing the polydispersity of polymer molecular-weight distribution. For 7.30 g KPS/100 g monomer and 500 rpm agitation rate, the conditions for minimizing molecular-weight distribution (∼ 80% conversion) occur for a reaction temperature, St/BA ratio, and surfactant concentration of 70°C, ∼ 3.59/1, and ∼ 2.08 g/100 g monomer, respectively, generating a minimum molecular-weight polydispersity of ∼ 3.0. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 69: 551–563, 1998     

Effect of 1-pentanol on the styrene emulsion polymerization

The influence of 1-pentanol (C₅OH) on the ST emulsion polymerization mechanisms and kinetics is investigated. The CMC of the ST emulsions first decreases rapidly and then levels off when the C₅OH concentration ([C₅OH]) increases from 0 to 72 mM. The effect of C₅OH increases to a maximum and then decreases when the SDS concentration ([SDS]) increases from 2 to 18 mM. At [SDS]=2 mM, homogeneous nucleation controls the polymerization kinetics regardless of [C₅OH]. At [SDS]=4 mM, the effect of [C₅OH] appears due to the transition from homogeneous nucleation to a mixed mode of particle nucleation (homogeneous nucleation and micellar nucleation) occurs when [C₅OH] increases from 0 to 72 mM. The effect of [C₅OH] is the strongest at [SDS]=6 mM since the particle nucleation mechanisms span homogeneous nucleation (low [C₅OH]), a mixed mode of particle nucleation (homogeneous nucleation and micellar nucleation) (medium [C₅OH]) and micellar nucleation (high [C₅OH]). At [SDS] >6 mM, in which micellar nucleation controls the polymerization kinetics, the effect of [C₅OH] decreases rapidly with increasing [SDS].     

Semibatch emulsion polymerization of butyl acrylate. I. Effect of monomer distribution

The effects of initial monomer charge on the particle formation and on the rate of polymerization were investigated for semibatch emulsion polymerization of butyl acrylate using sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) as a surfactant and potassium persulfate (KPS) as an initiator. For the semibatch process with monomer (M) feed, it was found that by varying the monomer distribution ratio between the initial reactor charge and the feed it is possible to alter the contribution of monomer‐flooded and monomer‐starved nucleation mechanisms to the whole nucleation process. The number of particles increases as the initial monomer charge decreases, if the monomer concentration is below a critical value for any fixed system. The increase in number of particles is associated with a broad particle‐size distribution which might depict an emerging second peak on the particle‐size distribution curve. For low emulsifier concentration systems, a larger number of particles was obtained for a lower amount of monomer charge. Particle coagulation and emulsifier adsorption on the monomer droplets were counted as the main reasons for such behavior. For a semibatch process with monomer emulsion (ME) feed, the larger number of particles was formed at a lower initial monomer charge, similar to an M‐add semibatch process. However, the application of monomer charge to an ME‐add process was found to increase the possibility of secondary nucleation and led to the occurrence of a bimodal particle‐size distribution. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 3094–3110, 1999     

Preparation of soap‐free cationic emulsion using polymerizable surfactant

A kind of polymerizable surfactant, methacryloyloxyethylhexadecyldimethylammonium bromide (DMHB) was used to synthesis soap‐free cationic emulsion with styrene (St), methyl methacrylate (MMA), and methacryloyloxyethyltrimethylammonium chloride (MATMAC) by emulsion polymerization using 2,2′‐azobis(isobutylamidine hydrochloride) (AIBA) as a cationic initiator. The effects of polymerizable surfactant concentration, initiator concentration, and reaction temperature on the conversion of monomer were investigated. The results indicated that the rate of polymerization could be expressed as R_p = k_p[AIBA]^0.42[DMHB]^0.45 and the apparent activation energy (E_a) was 83.42 kJ/mol. The particle size, ζ potential, and apparent charge density of cationic latices were also measured. The average diameter of copolymer particles decreased with increasing DMHB, MATMAC, and AIBA content; the charge properties of the particles were decided by the DMHB, MATMAC, and AIBA content. The polymerization mechanism is discussed. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 1111–1116, 2006     

Isothermal emulsion polymerization of n‐butyl methacrylate with KPS and redox initiators: Kinetic study at different surfactant/initiator concentrations and reaction temperature

Thermal initiators, although widely used in emulsion polymerization, are limited to high reaction temperatures due to their high activation energy. Redox initiators have low activation energies indicating that emulsion polymerization could be conducted at lower temperatures to save energy. In the present study, a redox initiator system comprised of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and ascorbic acid (AA) in conjunction with a Fe²⁺ ion catalyst is compared with a potassium persulfate (KPS) thermal initiator in an emulsion polymerization system consisting of n‐butyl methacrylate (BMA), sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) and water. The dependence of particle number on surfactant and initiator concentrations shows that redox‐ and KPS‐initiated systems both follow the Smith‐Ewart theory. However, the high radical flux generated from the redox initiator results in the formation of much smaller latex particles and higher reaction rate with lower molecular weights. Latex particle size and molecular weight could also be influenced by reaction temperature. By using redox initiator, small monodisperse particles (diameter < 50 nm) can be achieved without using a large amount of surfactant. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43037.     

Concentrated emulsion copolymerization of butyl acrylate and vinyl acetate initiated by a redox initiator at lower temperature

The concentrated emulsion copolymerization of butyl acrylate and vinyl acetate with an ammonium persulfate/sodium hydrogen sulfate mixture as a redox initiator, with a sodium dodecyl sulfate/cetyl alcohol mixture as a compound surfactant, and with poly(vinyl alcohol) as a liquid film reinforcer was carried out at lower temperature. In less than 3 h, the polymerization conversion was greater than 95%. The effects of the surfactant, the initiator, the volume fraction of the monomer, and the temperature on the stability of the concentrated emulsion, the kinetic process, and the average size of the latices were examined. The morphology of the polymer particles was observed by transmission electron microscopy, and the average size and distribution of the particle diameter were measured by photon correlation spectroscopy. The kinetic equation was R_p = k[M]^0.38[I]^0.89[E]^?0.80 at 30°C (where R_p is the polymerization rate, [I] is the initiator concentration, [M] is the monomer concentration, and [E] is the concentration of the compound surfactant), and the apparent activation energy was 22.69 kJ/mol. The thin‐layer polymerization of the concentrated emulsions, which enabled the removal of the heat of polymerization, was performed first. In comparison with test‐tube polymerization, thin‐layer polymerization provided a more regular morphology of the polymer particles. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 570–576, 2004     

Atom transfer radical polymerization of lauryl methacrylate

The atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of lauryl methacrylate (LMA) with an ethyl 2‐bromobutyrate/CuCl/N,N,N′,N″,N″‐pentamethyldiethylenetriamine initiation system was successfully carried out in toluene, and poly(lauryl methacrylate) with a low polydispersity (1.2 < weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight < 1.5) was obtained. Plots of ln ([M])₀/([M]) versus time and plots of the molecular weight versus conversion showed a linear dependence, indicating a constant number of propagating species throughout the polymerization. The rate of polymerization was 0.56‐order with respect to the concentration of the initiator and 1.30‐order with respect to the concentration of the Cu(I) catalyst. In addition, the effect of the solvent on the polymerization was investigated, and the thermodynamic data and activation parameters for the solution ATRP of LMA were reported. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 1117–1125, 2003     

Radical polymerization of N-[(1-n-butoxycarbonyl)ethyl]maleimide

Poly(N-[(1-n-butoxycarbonyl)ethyl]maleimide) (PBAM) was synthesized by solution polymerization with 2,2′-Azobis(isobutylronitrile) (AIBN) as radical initiator. The resulting polymer(PBAM) was characterized by infrared spectroscopy (IR), themogravimetry (TG), and differential thermal analysis (DTA). The initial decomposition temperature of PBAM is 321.6°C; the glass transition temperature of PBAM was 240.5°C. The effects of solvent, temperature, initiator concentration ([I]), and monomer concentration ([BAM]) on polymerization were also discussed. The overall activation energy (E_a) of homopolymerization was determined (E_a = 93.5 kJ/mol). It was revealed that the rate of polymerization (R_p) can be expressed as R_p ∝ [I]^0.58[BAM]. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 424–427, 2001     

Kinetics of RAFT emulsion polymerization of styrene mediated by oligo(acrylic acid‐b‐styrene) trithiocarbonate

The kinetics of ab initio reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) emulsion polymerization of styrene using oligo(acrylic acid‐b‐styrene) trithiocarbonate as both polymerization mediator and surfactant were systematically investigated. The initiator concentration was set much lower than that in the conventional emulsion polymerization to significantly suppress the irreversible termination reaction. It was found that decreased rapidly but the nucleation efficiency of micelles increased with the decrease of the initiator concentrations due to the significant radical exit. The particle number ( ) did not follow the classic Smith–Eward equation but was proportional to [I]^?0.4[S]^0.7. It was suggested that RAFT emulsion polymerization could be fast enough for commercial use even at extremely low initiator concentrations and low macro‐RAFT agent concentrations due to the higher particle nucleation efficiency at lower initiator concentration. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 2126–2134, 2016     

Fe‐mediated ICAR ATRP of styrene and acrylonitrile in polyethylene glycol

In this contribution, random copolymers of p(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile) via initiators for continuous activator regeneration (ICAR) in atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) (ICAR ATRP) of styrene and acrylonitrile (SAN) were synthesized at 90°C in low molecular weight polyethylene glycol (PEG‐400) using CCl₄ as initiator, FeCl₃·6H₂O as catalyst, succinic acid as ligand and thermal radical initiator azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as thermal free radical initiator. In this system, well‐defined copolymer of SAN was achieved. The kinetics results showed that the copolymerization rate obeyed first‐order kinetics model with respect to the monomer concentration, and a linear increase of the molecular weights with the increasing of monomer conversion with narrow molecular weight distribution was observed in the range of 1.1–1.5. The conversion decreased with increasing the amount of FeCl₃·6H₂O and increased with increasing the molar ratio of [St]₀/[AN]₀/[CCl₄]₀ and temperature. AIBN has a profound effect on the polymerization. The activation energy was 55.67 kJ mol^?1. The living character of copolymerization was confirmed by chain extension experiment. The resultant random copolymer was characterized by ¹H‐NMR and GPC. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40135.     

Soap‐free cationic emulsion copolymerization of styrene and butyl acrylate with comonomer in the presence of alcohols

Preparation of a cationic polymer latex of styrene and butyl acrylate with comonomer N,N‐dimethyl, N‐butyl,N‐methacryloloxylethyl ammonium bromide (DBMEA) was carried out by soap‐free emulsion polymerization. The effect of reaction conditions such as the ratio of methanol to water, DBMEA concentration, AIBA concentration and ionic strength on properties of copolymer particles was studied. The results showed that the average diameter (D_w) decreased with increasing of AIBA and DBMEA concentration; D_w decreased first then increased with increasing of methanol content; variation of the ionic strength led to a variation in the particle number (N_p) and D_w because of the competition of two kinds of nucleation mechanisms. The same trend was found in the polymerization taking in pure water. The MWD was bimodal during the particle growth period. These results suggest that the particles can be generated through two particle‐formation mechanisms, micelle nucleation and homogeneous nucleation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 2791–2797, 2003     

The effect of initiator‐to‐monomer ratio on the properties of the polybutadiene‐ol synthesized by free radical solution polymerization of 1,3‐butadiene

Polybutadiene‐ol was synthesized by solution radical polymerization of 1,3‐butadiene in the presence of hydrogen peroxide as initiator and 2‐propanol as solvent. The ratio of initiator to monomer molar concentration, [I₀]/[M₀], was varied while temperature, reaction time and the type and amount of solvent were kept constant. The effects on the M_n; M_w; M_v; PDI, OH‐number and functionality of the synthesized polyols were studied. By taking several samples during a polymerization batch and analyzing them, the time of reaction was chosen as 100 min, after which the PDI changed dramatically. M_n decreased exponentially with increasing [I₀]/[M₀] according to the relationship M_n = 565.55 ([I₀]/[M₀])^?0.7553. The decrease observed in M_w gradually levelled off with increasing [I₀]/[M₀] and molecular weight distribution broadened at larger values of [I₀]/[M₀]. The OH‐number increases with [I₀]/[M₀]. In addition to the number‐average molecular weight, functionality is dependent on the number of hydroxyl‐terminated chain radicals in the reaction medium. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Soap‐free emulsion copolymerization of perfluoroalkyl acrylates in the presence of a reactive surfactant

Soap‐free emulsion copolymerization of perfluoroalkyl acrylate (FA)/methyl methacrylate (MMA)/n‐butyl acrylate (n‐BA) was carried out in the presence of sodium 2‐acrylamide‐2‐methyl propanesulfonate (AMPSNa) as a reactive surfactant and potassium persulfate (KPS) as an initiator. An analysis of the effects of concentration of AMPSNa, KPS, FA as well as polymerization temperature on the kinetic features (rate of polymerization) and colloidal characteristics (mean particle diameter, particle disperse index, particle numbers, and surface charge density) was followed. NMR, FTIR, AFM, and fluorine‐selective electrode analysis were used to characterize the composition and morphology of the FA copolymers. Both AFM analysis and contact angle measurements strongly implied that the fluorinated segments migrated to the outmost surface and created films with lower surface energy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 2438–2444, 2007     

Controlled free radical photopolymerization of styrene initiated by trithiocarbonate

Density functional theory calculations are reported for prediction of the trends in C S bond dissociation energies and atomic spin densities for radicals using S,S′‐bis(α,α′‐dimethyl‐α‐acetic acid) trithiocarbonate (TTCA) and bis(2‐oxo‐2‐phenylethyl) trithiocarbonate (TTCB) as reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) reagents. The calculations predict that the value of the C S bond length (1.865 Å) of TTCA is longer than that (1.826 Å) of TTCB, and TTCA is more effective for the polymerization of styrene (St) compared to TTCB as predicted by density functional theory. In photopolymerizations, pseudo‐first‐order kinetics were confirmed for TTCB‐mediated photopolymerization of St due to the linear increase of ln([M]₀/[M]) up to about 28% conversion, suggesting the living characteristics behavior of the photopolymerization of St in the presence of TTCB. For both TTCA and TTCB the polydispersities change with increasing conversion in the range 1.10–1.45, typical for RAFT‐prepared (co)polymers and well below the theoretical lower limit of 1.50 for a normal free radical polymerization. In addition, the triblock copolymer polystyrene‐block‐poly(butyl acrylate)‐block‐polystyrene (PS PBA PS) was successfully prepared, with very good control over molecular weight and narrow polydispersity (M_w/M_n = 1.45), using PS S C(S) S PS as macro‐photoinitiator under UV irradiation at room temperature. This indicated that this reversible and valid strategy led to a better controlled block copolymer with defined structures. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Nucleation mechanism and morphology of polystyrene/Fe3O4 latex particles via miniemulsion polymerization using AIBN as initiator

In this study, oil‐based magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were first synthesized by a coprecipitation method followed by a surface modification using lauric acid. Polystyrene/Fe₃O₄ composite particles were then prepared via miniemulsion polymerization method using styrene as monomer, 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant, hexadecane (HD) or sorbitan monolaurate (Span20®) as costabilizer in the presence of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles. The effects of Fe₃O₄ content, costabilizer, homogenization energy during ultrasonication, and surfactant concentration on the polymerization kinetics (e.g., conversion), nucleation mechanism, and morphology (e.g., size distributions of droplets and latex) of composite particles were investigated. The results showed that at high homogenization energy, an optimum amount of SDS and hydrophobic costabilizer was needed to obtain composite particles nucleated predominately by droplet nucleation mechanism. The morphology of the composite particles can be well controlled by the homogenization energy and the hydrophobicity of the costabilizer. The magnetic composite particles can be made by locating Fe₃O₄ inside the latex particles or forming a shell layer on their PS core surface depending on the aforementioned polymerization conditions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Tuning the particle size and charge density of the crosslinked polystyrene particles

We report the synthesis of charged spherical colloidal particles of poly [styrene‐(co‐2‐propene sulfonic acid)] crosslinked with divinylbenzene by emulsion polymerization. The effects of concentration of both the emulsifier and initiator on the polymerization, particle size, and charge density are studied. The particle size is found to be dependent on both the emulsifier and initiator concentration and their power dependencies are different. Below critical micelle concentration (CMC), the particle size varies significantly within a small range of emulsifier concentration. In contrast, particle size decrease is not very pronounced at the heterogeneous (micellar) particle nucleation regime where the emulsifier concentration is well above of the CMC. The power dependencies of the number of particles on surfactant concentration are explained in the light of conversion–time profile of the polymerization. The surface charge density of the colloidal particles also varies with both the emulsifier and initiator concentration. Both the particle size and charge density show an inverse relation with the molecular weight of the polymer. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

RAFT polymerization of acrylamide manipulated with trithiocarbonates in poly(ethylene glycol) solution

The reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of acrylamide (AM) in aqueous two‐phase system was successfully carried out in polyethylene glycol (PEG) aqueous solution. Because of phase transition involved in the polymerization process, the ln([M]₀/[M])‐time plots were indicated in two‐stages significantly. Both the initial homogeneous polymerization and the subsequent heterogeneous polymerization were under good control. The effects of various synthesis parameters such as polymerization temperature, concentration of CTA, and initiator on RAFT polymerization behaviors have been investigated. Furthermore, the evolution process of the droplet morphologies after separation was examined by transmission electron microscope. The results showed that the nuclei were formed throughout the whole heterogeneous polymerization and stable sphere particles with an average size of about 1 μm were produced finally. More importantly, it was also found that the viscosity played a significant role in the stabilization of the dispersion of polymer particles. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43000.