Monodisperse‐porous N‐methyl‐D‐glucamine functionalized poly(vinylbenzyl chloride‐co‐divinylbenzene) beads as boron selective sorbent

To generate a new sorbent with high boron adsorption capacity, we synthesized monodisperse‐porous poly(vinylbenzyl chloride‐co‐divinylbenzene), poly(VBC‐co‐DVB), beads 8.5 μm in size by a new “modified seeded polymerization” technique. By using their chloromethyl functionality, the beads were derivatized by a simple, direct reaction with a boron‐selective ligand, N‐methyl‐D ‐glucamine (NMDG). The selection of poly(VBC‐co‐DVB) beads as a starting material allowed to obtain high boron sensitive‐ligand density on the beads depending on their high chloromethyl content. In the batch adsorption runs performed using NMDG‐attached poly(VBC‐co‐DVB) beads as sorbent, boron removal was efficiently performed in a wide pH range between 4 and 11. Quantitative boron removal was observed with the sorbent concentration of 4 g/L. In the same runs, plateau value of equilibrium adsorption isotherm was obtained as 14 mg boron/g beads. Relatively higher boron adsorption was explained by high ligand density and high specific surface area of the sorbent. Boron adsorption isotherms were analyzed using Langmuir and Freundlich models. In the kinetic runs performed for boron removal, the equilibrium was attained within 10 min at a value of 98%. The fast kinetic behavior was explained by the smaller particle size and enhanced porosity of the new sorbent. Infinite solution volume model and unreacted core model were used to evaluate boron adsorption onto the NMDG‐attached poly(VBC‐co‐DVB) beads. The results indicated that the adsorption process is controlled by the particle‐diffusion step. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Preparation of polystyrene/poly[2‐methoxy‐5‐(2′‐ethylhexyloxy)‐p‐phenylenevinylene] fluorescent microspheres by miniemulsion polymerization

Fluorescent microspheres have great potential for use as probes in biological diagnostics. In this context, poly[2‐methoxy‐5‐(2′‐ethylhexyloxy)‐p‐phenylenevinylene] (MEH‐PPV), a conjugated polymer which has high quantum yield, controllable emitting wavelength and facile processing in manufacture, was used as a fluorescent material for the preparation of polystyrene (PS)/MEH‐PPV fluorescent microspheres via miniemulsion polymerization. We demonstrate that the emitting wavelength of the PS/MEH‐PPV fluorescent microspheres can be regulated by changing the amount of azobisisobutyronitrile initiator in the polymerization process. Using acrylic acid comonomer, poly[styrene‐co‐(acrylic acid)]/MEH‐PPV fluorescent microspheres with functional carboxyl groups were also prepared. All the microspheres were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence spectrophotometry. The functional carboxyl groups were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. This work provides a novel platform for the preparation of conjugated polymer fluorescent microspheres for biological applications. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Biodegradable polymer made of styrene and N‐benzyl‐4‐vinylpyridinium chloride

A copolymer of styrene with N‐benzyl‐4‐vinylpyridinium chloride (BVP), poly(styrene‐co‐N‐benzyl‐4‐vinylpyridinium chloride) (PST‐co‐BVP), was degradable by activated sludge in soil when the oligo‐styrene portion was sufficiently small. The degradation of the equimolar copolymer followed first‐order kinetics when the polymer sample was 1.0 or 0.5 g/kg and gave a half‐life of 5.6 days. The degradation of PST‐co‐BVP with a reduced BVP content did not follow first‐order kinetics under the aforementioned conditions but appeared to follow the kinetics when the amount of the polymer sample was sufficiently small. Under the ultimate conditions, the half‐life of PST‐co‐BVP that contained 10.6 mol % BVP was estimated to be 12.5 days, and the half‐life of PST‐co‐BVP that contained 5 mol % BVP was expected to be 30–40 days. The incorporation of 5 mol % BVP appeared sufficient for making PST‐co‐BVP substantially biodegradable if we did not expect exceptionally rapid degradation. PST‐co‐BVP was different from conventional polystyrene but possessed biodegradability. Random scission of the main chain much predominated over uniform scission from the end of the polymer chain in the biodegradation of PST‐co‐BVP. The cleavage of the main chain at BVP appeared predominant over that of oligo‐styrene. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 554–559. 2006     

Palladium‐Iminodiacetic Acid Immobilized on pH‐Responsive Polymeric Microspheres: Efficient Quasi‐Homogeneous Catalyst for Suzuki and Heck Reactions in Aqueous Solution

The pH‐responsive core‐shell microspheres of poly(styrene‐co‐methylacrylic acid) (PS‐co‐PMAA) containing a polystyrene (PS) core and a poly(methylacrylic acid) (PMAA) shell are synthesized by one‐stage soap‐free copolymerization and the catalyst system palladium‐iminodiacetic acid (IDA‐Pd) is immobilized on the outer shell‐layer of the core‐shell microspheres to form the quasi‐homogeneous and easily accessible catalyst PS‐co‐PMAA‐IDA‐Pd. This quasi‐homogeneous PS‐co‐PMAA‐IDA‐Pd catalyst is highly dispersed in the reaction medium just like a homogeneous one and can be separated like a heterogeneous catalyst by adjusting the pH of the reaction medium. Suzuki reactions employing the quasi‐homogeneous PS‐co‐PMAA‐IDA‐Pd catalyst are efficiently performed in water as the sole solvent under mild conditions such as room temperature. The PS‐co‐PMAA‐IDA‐Pd catalyst is also used in Heck reactions of a wide range of aryl halides with styrene and proves to be efficient in aqueous solution. The PS‐co‐PMAA‐IDA‐Pd catalyst has a low leaching loss and can be reused at least 4 times without loss of activity.     

Synthesis of poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐divinylbenzene‐co‐vinylbenzyl chloride)‐derived hypercrosslinked polymer microspheres and a preliminary evaluation of their potential for the solid‐phase capture of pharmaceuticals

Poly[acrylonitrile (AN)‐co‐divinylbenzene (DVB)‐co‐vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC)] terpolymers were synthesized by precipitation polymerization in the form of porous polymer microspheres. The poly(AN‐co‐DVB‐co‐VBC) polymers were then hypercrosslinked, via a Friedel‐Crafts reaction with FeCl₃ in nitrobenzene, to provide a significant uplift in the specific surface areas of the polymers. FTIR spectra of the hypercrosslinked poly(AN‐co‐DVB‐co‐VBC)s showed that the chloromethyl groups derived from VBC were consumed by the Friedel‐Crafts reactions, which was consistent with successful hypercrosslinking. Hypercrosslinking installed a number of new, small pores into the polymers, as evidenced by a dramatic increase in the specific surface areas upon hypercrosslinking (from ～530 to 1080 m² g^?1). The hypercrosslinked polymers are very interesting for a range of applications, not least of all for solid‐phase extraction (SPE) work, where the convenient physical form of the polymers (beaded format), their low mean particle diameters, and narrow particle size distributions, as well as their high specific surface areas and polar character (arising from the AN residues), make them attractive candidates as SPE sorbents. In this regard, in a preliminary study one of the hypercrosslinked polymers was utilized as an SPE sorbent for the capture of the polar pharmaceutical diclofenac from a polar environment. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45677.     

Preparation of poly(divinylbenzene‐co‐N‐isopropylacrylamide) microspheres and their hydrogen‐bonding assembly behavior for raspberry‐like core‐corona polymer composite

Narrowdisperse poly(divinylbenzene‐co‐N‐isopropylacrylamide) (poly(DVB‐co‐NIPAM)) functional microspheres with the diameter in the range of 630 nm and 2.58 μm were prepared by distillation–precipitation polymerization in neat acetonitrile in the absence of any stabilizer. The effect of N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) ratio in the comonomer feed on the morphology of the resultant polymer particles was investigated in detail with divinylbenzene (DVB) as crosslinker and 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator. The monodisperse poly(DVB‐co‐NIPAM) microspheres with NIPAM fraction of 20 wt % were selected for the preparation of raspberry‐like core‐corona polymer composite by the hydrogen‐bonding self‐assembly heterocoagulation with poly(ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate‐co‐acrylic acid) [poly(EGDMA‐co‐AA)] nanospheres. Both of the functional poly(DVB‐co‐NIPAM) microspheres and the core‐corona particles were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), and elemental analysis (EA). © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 1350–1357, 2007     

Poly(styrene‐co‐N‐butylmaleimide) macroinitiators by controlled autopolymerization and related block copolymers

Autopolymerization of styrene‐N‐butylmaleimide mixtures at 125 or 140°C in the presence of a stable nitroxyl radical [2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidin‐1‐yloxyl (TEMPO)] was found to proceed in a pseudoliving manner. Unimolecular initiators, which were originated by trapping self‐generated radical species with TEMPO, took part in the process. Under the studied experimental conditions, the TEMPO‐controlled autopolymerization with a varying comonomer ratio provided virtually alternating copolymers of narrow molecular weight distributions. The molecular weights of the copolymers increased with conversions. The obtained styrene‐N‐butylmaleimide copolymers containing TEMPO end groups were used to initiate the polymerization of styrene. The polymerization yielded poly(styrene‐co‐N‐butylmaleimide)‐polystyrene block copolymers with various polystyrene chain lengths and narrow molecular weight distributions. The compositions, molecular weights, and molecular weight distributions of the synthesized block copolymers and the initial poly(styrene‐co‐N‐butylmaleimide) precursors were evaluated using nitrogen analysis, gel permeation chromatography, and ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 2378–2385, 1999     

Iminodiacetic acid‐containing polymer brushes grafted onto silica gel for preconcentration and determination of copper(II) in environmental samples

Silica gel has been modified by silylation with 3‐mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane followed by graft polymerization of dimethylacrylamide and (N,N‐bis‐carboxymethyl)amino‐3‐allylglycerol‐co‐dimethylacrylamide, synthesized via the reaction of allyl glycidyl ether with iminodiacetic acid. The sorbent, poly(AGE/IDA‐co‐DMAA)‐grafted silica gel, has been characterized by FTIR, elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), FT‐Raman, and scanning electron microscopy and studied for the preconcentration and determination of trace amounts of Cu(II) ion in environmental water samples. The optimum pH value for quantitative sorption of Cu(II) in batch mode was 5.5 and desorption was achieved, using 0.5 mol L^?1 nitric acid. The sorption capacity of functionalized sorbent is 32.3 mg g^?1. The chelating sorbent was reused for 15 sorption–desorption cycles without any significant change in sorption capacity. The profile of copper uptake by the sorbent reflected good accessibility of the chelating sites in the poly(AGE/IDA‐co‐DMAA)‐grafted silica gel. Scatchard analysis demonstrated homogeneous nature of binding sites. The equilibrium adsorption data of Cu(II) on modified sorbent were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Redlich–Peterson models. Based on equilibrium adsorption data, the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin constants were determined as 0.0665, 4.26, and 8.34, respectively, at pH 5.5 and 20°C. Adsorption isotherms were analyzed at different temperatures to obtain free energy, enthalpy, and entropy of adsorption. The method was applied for Cu(II) determination in sea water samples. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Poly(N‐hydroxyethyl acrylamide)‐b‐polystyrene by combination of ATRP and aminolysis processes

Block copolymers of very hydrophilic poly(N‐hydroxyethyl acrylamide) (PHEAA) with polystyrene (PS) were successfully synthesized by sequential atom transfer radical polymerization of ethyl acrylate (EA) and styrene monomers and subsequent aminolysis of the acrylic block with ethanolamine. Quantitative aminolysis of poly(ethyl acrylate) (PEA) block yielded poly(N‐hydroxyethyl acrylamide)‐b‐polystyrene in well‐defined structures, as evidenced by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ¹H‐NMR spectroscopy techniques. Three copolymers with constant chain length of PHEAA (degree of polymerization: 80) and PS blocks with 21, 74, and 121 repeating units were prepared by this method. Among those, the block copolymer with 21 styrene repeating units showed excellent micellation behavior in water without phase inversion below 100°C, as inferred from dynamical light scattering, environmental scanning electron microscopy, and fluorescence measurements. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Synthesis of poly(styrene‐co‐4‐vinylpyridine) microspheres via dispersion polymerization: Effect of the concentration of 4‐vinylpyridine

Amphiphilic copolymer microspheres of poly(styrene‐co‐4‐vinylpyridine) were prepared by dispersion polymerization in an alcohol/water medium. The synthesis of poly(styrene‐co‐4‐vinylpyridine) microparticles was successfully carried out, and the latexes had a spherical morphology with good monodispersity. The degree of conversion in the early stage of polymerization decreased with increasing 4‐vinylpyridine (4VP) monomer content, but the final conversions were similar (>95%). The copolymerization rate decreased with increasing 4VP content, and a broad particle size distribution was observed with 20 wt % 4VP because of the prolonged nucleation time. With the 4VP concentration increasing, the molecular weight of the copolymer microspheres decreased, and the glass‐transition temperature of the copolymers increased; this indicated that all the copolymers were random and homogeneous. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Preparation of narrow‐disperse or monodisperse poly{[poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate]‐co‐(acrylic acid)} microspheres with ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate as crosslinker by distillation precipitation polymerization

Narrow‐disperse or monodisperse poly{[poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate]‐co‐(acrylic acid)} (poly(PEGMA‐co‐AA)) microspheres were prepared by distillation precipitation polymerization with ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as crosslinker with 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile as initiator in neat acetonitrile in the absence of any stabilizer, without stirring. The diameters of the resultant poly(PEGMA‐co‐AA‐co‐EGDMA) microspheres were in the range 200–700 nm with a polydispersity index of 1.01–1.14, which depended on the comonomer feed of the polymerization. The addition of the hydrogen bonding monomer acrylic acid played an essential role in the formation of narrow‐disperse or monodisperse polymer microspheres during the polymerization. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Surface‐active amphiphilic poly[(2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonic acid)‐co‐(N‐isopropylacrylamide)] nanoparticles as stabilizer in aqueous emulsion polymerization

This work reports the effect of nanogel solid particles on the surface and interfacial tension of water/air and water/styrene interfaces. Moreover, the work aimed to use nanogels as a stabilizer for miniemulsion aqueous polymerization. A series of amphiphilic crosslinked N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) and 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS) copolymer nanogels were synthesized based on an aqueous copolymerization batch method. Divinylbenzene and N,N‐methylene bisacrylamide were used as crosslinkers. The morphologies of the prepared nanogels were investigated using transmission and scanning electron microscopies. The lower critical transition temperatures were determined using differential scanning calorimetry. The surface tension of colloidal NIPAm/AMPS dispersions was measured as functions of surface age, temperature and the morphology of the NIPAm/AMPS nanogels. The NIPAm/AMPS nanogels reduced the surface tension of water to about 30.1 mN m^?1 at 298 K with a small increase at 313 K. Surface activities of these nanogels in water were determined by surface tension measurements. The NIPAm/AMPS dispersions had high surface activity and were used as a stabilizer to prepare a crosslinked poly(styrene‐co‐AMPS) microgel based on emulsion crosslinking polymerization. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

Preparation of hemispherical poly(4‐vinylpyridine‐co‐butyl acrylate)/poly(styrene‐co‐butyl acrylate) composite microspheres by seeded preswelling emulsion polymerization

Seeded preswelling emulsion polymerization was carried out by using monodispersed poly(4‐vinylpyridine‐co‐butyl acrylate) [P(4VP‐BA)] particles as the seed, and styrene and butyl acrylate as the second‐stage monomers under different polymerization conditions, to obtain hemispherical polystyrene (PST)‐rich–P4VP‐rich microspheres. Prior to polymerization, toluene was added into the preswelling system together with the second‐stage monomers. It was found that, with the increase of the amount of toluene, the particle morphology showed a tendency toward desirable hemispherical structure, and the colloidal stability of composite latex was improved. When the weight ratio of toluene/seed latex was increased up to 7.5/40 (g/g), the stable hemispherical latex could be obtained. However, when toluene was not added, the coagulum formed on the wall of the reactor during polymerization, and the composite particles with multiple surface domains (such as sandwich‐like, popcorn‐like) were formed. In addition, the final morphology of composite particles was influenced by the polarity of the seed crosslinker and the hydrophilicity of the second‐stage initiator, which could affect the mobility of poly(styrene‐co‐butyl acrylate) [P(ST‐BA)] chains. The morphology development during the polymerization was investigated in detail, and a schematic model was derived to depict the formation mechanism of hemispherical P(4VP‐BA)/P(ST‐BA) composite microspheres. The results revealed that the mobility of the P(ST‐BA) chains influenced the diffusion of the P(ST‐BA) domains on the surface of the P(4VP‐BA) matrix. When the mobility of the P(ST‐BA) chains allowed small‐size P(ST‐BA) domains to coalesce into one larger domain, complete phase‐separated morphology (hemisphere) could be achieved. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 3811–3821, 2003     

Preparation and characterization of porous cationic poly[styrene‐co‐(N,N′‐dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate)] nanoparticles and their adsorption of heavy metal ions in water

Using styrene (St) and N,N′‐dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) as raw materials, monodispersed P(St‐co‐DMAEMA) nanoparticles (NPs) were first prepared via semi‐continuous emulsion polymerization, and using a stepwise acid–alkali post‐treatment, porous P(St‐co‐DMAEMA) NPs were then obtained and used to adsorb heavy metal ions in aqueous phase. Results showed that the post‐treatment conditions including temperature, initial pH and time of acid–alkali treatment had significant effects on the morphology of the porous P(St‐co‐DMAEMA) NPs, with higher temperature, more extreme pH condition and longer treatment time resulting in larger pores and volume swelling ratio. Under the optimized acid–alkali post‐treatment conditions (60 °C, acid treatment at pH = 4.0 for 1 h and then alkali treatment at pH = 10.0 for 1 h), the obtained porous NPs had nearly 15 times the surface area and 1.5 times the amount of surface amino groups than the corresponding solid NPs. An analysis of the mechanism of metal ion adsorption on the porous NPs indicated that the adsorbed amount of metal ions was the result of synergistic effect of physical and chemical adsorption, which was closely related to the porous NP surface area, amount of surface of amino groups and the volume of the ions. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis of monodisperse crosslinked poly(styrene‐co‐divinylbenzene) microspheres by precipitation polymerization in acetic acid

Poly(styrene‐co‐divinylbenzene) microspheres with size ranging from 1.6 to 1.8 μm were prepared in acetic acid by precipitation polymerization. The particle size and particle size distribution were determined by laser diffraction particle size analyzer, and the morphology of the particles was observed with scanning electron microscope. Besides, effects of various polymerization parameters such as initiator and total monomer concentration, divinylbenzene (DVB) content, polymerization time and polymerization temperature on the morphology and particle size were investigated in this article. In addition, the yield of microspheres increased with the increasing total monomer concentration, initiator loading, DVB concentration and polymerization time. In addition, the optimum polymerization conditions for synthesis of monodisperse crosslinked poly(styrene‐co‐divinylbenzene) microspheres by precipitation polymerization in acetic acid were obtained. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Dynamic mechanical and morphological behavior of blends of polystyrene and poly[acrylonitrile‐g‐(ethylene‐co‐propylene‐co‐diene)‐g‐styrene] prepared by in situ polymerization of styrene

PS/AES blends were prepared by in situ polymerization of styrene in the presence of AES elastomer, a grafting copolymer of poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile) – SAN and poly(ethylene‐co‐propylene‐co‐diene)–EPDM chains. These blends are immiscible and present complex phase behavior. Selective extraction of the blends' components showed that some fraction of the material is crosslinked and a grafting of PS onto AES is possible. The morphology of the noninjected blends consists of spherical PS domains covered by a thin layer of AES. After injection molding, the blends show morphology of disperse elastomeric phase morphology in a rigid matrix. Two factors could contribute to the change of morphology: (1) the stationary polymerization conditions did not allow the mixture to reach the equilibrium morphology; (2) the grafting degree between PS and AES was not high enough to ensure the morphological stability against changes during processing in the melting state. The drastic change of EPDM morphology from continuous to disperse phase has as consequence a decrease in the intensity of the loss modulus peaks corresponding to the EPDM glass transition. However, the storage modulus at temperatures between the glass transition of EPDM and PS/SAN phases does not change significantly. This effect was attributed to the presence of the SAN rigid chains in the AES. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2009     

Synthesis and characterization of statistical copolymers of styrene and 4‐(1‐hydroxyalkyl)styrene

A family of new polymers based on poly(4‐(1‐hydroxyalkyl)styrene), and its copolymers with styrene were synthesized and thoroughly characterized by ¹H‐NMR, ¹³C‐NMR, FTIR, and UV spectroscopies. The chemical modification reactions of polystyrene (PS) was used as a novel method of performing the synthesis of poly(4‐(1‐hydroxyethyl‐co‐styrene)), poly(4‐(1‐hydroxypropyl‐co‐styrene)), poly(4‐(1‐hydroxybutyl‐co‐styrene)), and poly(4‐(1‐hydroxyphenylmethyl‐co‐styrene)). The novelty of this method lies in the incorporation of the desired mol % of the functional groups in polystyrene chain, to obtain random copolymers of desired composition. In preliminary testing/evaluation studies the utility and versatility of the new copolymers, which have the potential to be negative‐tone photoresist materials, were studied. Thus a few photoresist formulations based on poly(styrene‐co‐4‐(1‐hydroxyalkylstyrene)) were developed with 5 wt % of a photoacid generator. These studies suggested that the new copolymers synthesized by a simple and alternate method could have the same potential as a photoresist material when compared with the polymers synthesized by the polymerization of the corresponding functional monomer. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 1902–1914, 2004     

A facile strategy for the functionalization of poly[cyclotriphosphazene‐co‐(4,4′‐sulfonyldiphenol)] materials

Recently, a new type of phosphazene‐containing material, poly[cyclotriphosphazene‐co‐(4,4′‐sulfonyldiphenol)] (PZS), was successfully prepared. PZS materials including PZS nanotubes, PZS nanofibers and PZS microspheres show excellent thermal stability, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Moreover, PZS‐containing materials such as silver nanowire/PZS, carbon nanotube/PZS and Fe₃O₄/PZS nanotubes have also been prepared. Therefore, we explored a specific method for the functionalization of these PZS and PZS‐containing materials to expand their scope of application. As a model of various PZS and PZS‐containing materials, PZS microspheres (PZSMs) were functionalized via surface‐initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Polymerization of styrene occurred at surface sites covalently derivatized with ATRP initiators to form PZSM–polystyrene. The number‐average molecular weight (M_n) of grafted polymer chains could be well controlled. Furthermore, PZSM–polystyrene was still active for further block copolymerization of methyl methacrylate. Both styrene‐ and acrylate‐type monomers could be directly polymerized or block copolymerized from the surface of PZS and PZS‐containing materials using surface‐initiated ATRP. M_n of grafted polymer chains could be well controlled. This facile strategy could pave the way for a wider range of applications of these materials. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Dispersion polymerization of uniform cross‐linked polystyrene microspheres in butan‐1‐ol

Butan‐1‐ol can be used as the solvent in the synthesis of poly(styrene‐co‐divinylbenzene‐co‐acrylic acid) microspheres by dispersion polymerization of a mixture of styrene, divinylbenzene (DVB), and acrylic acid (AA). Varying the proportion of the crosslinker DVB affects the size distribution and particle morphology profoundly, with 0.5–1.0% w/w producing spherical particles, whereas 2.0% w/w DVB produces irregular, concave morphologies. Varying the amount of AA from 5–7% w/w increases the average diameter of the spherical particles, whereas 9% w/w AA results in ovoid particles with dimpled surface morphology. In an optimized synthesis using 1.0% w/w DVB and 5% AA, uniform polymer microspheres with an average diameter of 0.8 µm and a coefficient of variation (CV) of diameter of 8.2% are produced. The use of a medium‐polarity solvent, such as butan‐1‐ol, as the solvent for dispersion polymerization will facilitate the incorporation of non‐polar moieties, such as organically‐passivated quantum dots, into the polymer during synthesis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43103.     

Self‐assembled poly(styrene‐co‐N‐isopropylacrylamide) film induced by capillary force

The monodisperse poly(styrene‐co‐N‐isopropylacrylamide) (poly(St‐co‐NIPAAm)) particles prepared by emulsifier‐free emulsion polymerization with microwave irradiation were induced by capillary forces to self‐assemble, and formed the two‐dimensional films on the clean glassware wafer substrates. The morphologies of the two‐dimensional films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atom force microscopy (AFM). The results showed that monodisperse poly(St‐co‐NIPAAm) particles could form ordered two‐dimensional films by capillary forces. With NIPAAm concentration increasing, there gradually appeared surface undulations or surface defective region on the two‐dimensional films. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 3514–3519, 2006