Kinetic studies of the preparation of nanocomposites based on encapsulated Cloisite 30B in poly[styrene‐co‐(butyl acrylate)] via mini‐emulsion polymerization

Mini‐emulsion polymerization of poly[styrene‐co‐(butyl acrylate)] encapsulating various contents of Cloisite 30B was performed. The kinetic behaviours of mini‐emulsions were investigated using the gravimetric method and the effect of nanoclay content on the polymerization rate was investigated. The average number of radicals per particle was estimated by calculating the number of particles. The results showed that by increasing the nanoclay content, the average diameter of polymer particles increased. Studies of the polymerization rate indicated that the increase in particle size provided a greater average number of reactive radicals per polymer particle, which increased from 0.0520 for the neat copolymer to 0.2462 for the nanocomposite containing 5.3 wt% encapsulated nanoclay. This study also confirmed our previous claim about the role of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) molecules in the exfoliation of nanoclay platelets. On increasing the clay content, fewer SDS molecules will be available on particle surfaces resulting in larger particles at the end of the reaction. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry