Tetsuya Yamamoto
Sep 12, 2013
Citations
0
Influential Citations
25
Citations
Journal
Colloid and Polymer Science
Abstract
Methacrylic monomer was used in soap-free emulsion polymerization in order to obtain a stable dispersion containing particles of the polymerized monomer. 2,2′-Azobis(2-methylpropionitrile) (AIBN) or 1,1′-azobis(1-acetoxy-1-phenylethane) (OTAZO-15) were used as the radical initiator. Although particles with a size of about 1.0 μm were obtained when using methyl methacrylate as the monomer and AIBN as the initiator, the particles did not exhibit good dispersion stability. When OTAZO-15, which has phenyl rings, was used as the initiator, the monomer phase solidified instead of forming particles in the aqueous phase. Benzyl methacrylate (BMA) monomer, which contains a phenyl ring, was polymerized using AIBN. Negatively charged particles with a size of 0.90 μm were formed. These particles exhibited good dispersion stability probably because of the pi electrons of the phenyl ring in the BMA monomer. The method in this study allows the synthesis of nearly micron-sized particles without surfactant, organic solvent, and electrolyte.