Preparation of monodisperse PMMA microspheres in nonpolar solvents by dispersion polymerization with a macromonomeric stabilizer

@article{citeulike:1337781, abstract = {We discuss a dispersion polymerization procedure for preparing monodisperse and micron-sized poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) particles in hexanes with methacryloxypropyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane stabilizers. We investigate the effects of the stabilizer molecular weight, stabilizer concentration, and monomer concentration on the particle size and polydispersity. We find that a minimum molecular weight of 10\&\#160;000\&\#160;g/mol is necessary to synthesize colloidally stable PMMA dispersions. The particle polydispersity is minimal (=5\%) for stabilizer to monomer weight ratios of 0.02 to 0.1, while PMMA particles prepared under conditions outside this range are polydisperse. The particle diameter can be varied from 0.4 to 1.5\&\#160;\&\#181;m by appropriate choices of stabilizer and monomer concentrations. Stable PMMA suspensions can be prepared at up to 26.3\% solids. The dispersions are stable in most liquid aliphatics, and are monodisperse enough to form ordered domains at high concentration. This single-stage synthesis, requiring only commercially available materials, may be of interest to those seeking a simple way to prepare highly monodisperse non-aqueous dispersions in the micron size range.}, author = {Klein, Sascham and Manoharan, Vinothann and Pine, Davidj and Lange, Fredf }, citeulike-article-id = {1337781}, doi = {10.1007/s00396-003-0915-0}, journal = {Colloid \& Polymer Science}, keywords = {chemical, colloids, pine}, month = {December}, number = {1}, pages = {7--13}, posted-at = {2008-03-24 22:24:39}, priority = {2}, title = {Preparation of monodisperse PMMA microspheres in nonpolar solvents by dispersion polymerization with a macromonomeric stabilizer}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00396-003-0915-0}, volume = {282}, year = {2003} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:1337781 L3 - citeulike-article-id:1337781 TI - Preparation of monodisperse PMMA microspheres in nonpolar solvents by dispersion polymerization with a macromonomeric stabilizer JF - Colloid & Polymer Science VL - 282 IS - 1 SP - 7 EP - 13 N2 - We discuss a dispersion polymerization procedure for preparing monodisperse and micron-sized poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) particles in hexanes with methacryloxypropyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane stabilizers. We investigate the effects of the stabilizer molecular weight, stabilizer concentration, and monomer concentration on the particle size and polydispersity. We find that a minimum molecular weight of 10 000 g/mol is necessary to synthesize colloidally stable PMMA dispersions. The particle polydispersity is minimal (=5%) for stabilizer to monomer weight ratios of 0.02 to 0.1, while PMMA particles prepared under conditions outside this range are polydisperse. The particle diameter can be varied from 0.4 to 1.5 µm by appropriate choices of stabilizer and monomer concentrations. Stable PMMA suspensions can be prepared at up to 26.3% solids. The dispersions are stable in most liquid aliphatics, and are monodisperse enough to form ordered domains at high concentration. This single-stage synthesis, requiring only commercially available materials, may be of interest to those seeking a simple way to prepare highly monodisperse non-aqueous dispersions in the micron size range. KW - chemical KW - colloids KW - pine AU - Klein, Sascham AU - Manoharan, Vinothann AU - Pine, Davidj AU - Lange, Fredf PY - 2003/12/01/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00396-003-0915-0 ER -