POLYMERIC NANOPARTICLES FROM SUPERCRITICAL CO_2 MICROEMULSION POLYMERIZATION

Herein, we reported the microemulsion polymerization in supercritical carbon dioxide. With the aid of an anionic phosphate fluorosurfactant （bis-[2-（F-hexyl）ethyl]phosphate sodium）, water-soluble/CO2-insoluble acryloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride monomer and N,N＇-methylene-bisacrylamide cross-linker were solubilized into CO2 continuous phase via the formation of water-in-CO2 （w/c） microemulsion water pools. Initiated by a CO2-soluble initiator, 2,2＇-azo-bisisobutyronitrile （AIBN）, cross-linked poly（acryloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride） particles were produced and stabilized in these w/c internal water pools. Nano-sized particles with sizes less than 20 nm in diameter and narrow particle size distributions were obtained.

Microemulsion Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate

The microemulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate was studied. The effects of feeding modes on the structure and the properties of the obtained polymer microlatex were investigated by measuring the conversion, the transmittance and the refractive index of the latex, and by measuring the particle size, the molecular weight and the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the polymers. The results show that compared to the batch feeding mode, the semi-continuous feeding mode is more favorable to form a PMMA microlatex with a higher transmittance, a smaller particle size, a higher molecular weight and a higher T_g. And the obtained PMMA microlatex has a 30%—40% (mass fraction) polymer content, a 0. 03 emulsifier/water weight ratio, a 0. 05 emulsifier/monomer weight ratio and a 17 nm average particle diameter, which is very important for the industrialization of the microemulsion polymerization technique.

GRAFTING OF POLYSTYRENE ONTO A NANOMETER SILICA SURFACE BY MICROEMULSION POLYMERIZATION

The grafting of polystyrene onto a nanometer silica surface by microemulsion polymerization is described. Silica was functionalized with 3-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane coupling agent before polymerization. A mixture of ionic and non-ionic surfactants as well as water-soluble and oil-soluble initiators were used. The effect of the amount of silica and ionic surfactant on the graft polymerization was studied. The graft polymerization procedure for styrene was also applied to methyl methacrylate, Composite particles with a core-shell structure were obtained and the yield and grafting efficiency of monomer were high.

Synthesis and Characterization of Polyaniline in Magnetic Field

Polyaniline was obtained by chemical oxidation in the microemulsion system consisting of aniline, emulsifier, assistant emulsifier and water in magnetic field （0 T, 0.2 T, 0.4 T, 0,6 T）. The effect of magnetic field on the polymerization rate and the inherent viscosity of polyaniline were studied. The molecular structure of polyaniline was characterized by IR spectra and the thermal degradation behavior was assessed using TG techniques. The results show that the polymerization rate, molecular weight, thermal stability and conductivity of the synthesized polyaniline enhanced and no effect on the basic structural units of polyaniline was observed in magnetic field, Within the range of the intensity of magnetic field studied, the magnetic field of 0.4 T exerts the largest influence on polymerization of aniline.

Polymeric Nanohydrogels of Poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide)Combined with Others Functionalized Monomers:Synthesis and Characterization

Nanohydrogels from inverse microemulsion (w/o) polymerization, at 25°C, of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA) and functionalized monomers are described. The functionalized monomers were: N-(pyridine-4-ylmethyl) acrylamide (NP4MAM) and tert-butyl 2-acrylamidoethyl carbamate (2AAECM). The polymeric nanohydrogel obtained was characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (1HNMR), while their morphology and particle size was assessed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light scattering. Their thermal properties were studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). As a preliminary measure of biocompatibility, in vitro evaluations of the nanohydrogels were carried out by cellular toxicity (colon carcinoma cells, CT-26) and hemocompatibility tests. These evaluations showed that these nanohydrogels were not toxic in the examined concentration range and exhibited preliminary blood compatibility;therefore they could be used in biomedical applications.

Novel synthesis with an atomized microemulsion technique and characterization of nano-calcium carbonate(CaCO_3)/poly(methyl methacrylate) core-shell nanoparticles

The synthesis of hard-core/soft-shell calcium carbonate （CaCO3）/poly（methyl methacrylate） （PMMA） hybrid structured nanoparticles （〈100nm） by an atomized microemulsion polymerization process is reported. The polymer chains were anchored onto the surface of nano-CaCO3 through use of a cou- pling agent, triethoxyvinyl silane （TEVS）. Ammonium persulfate （APS）, sodium dodecyl sulfate （SDS） and n-pentanol were used as the initiator, surfactant and cosurfactant, respectively. The polymeriza- tion mechanism of the core-shell latex particles is discussed. The encapsulation of nano-CaCO3 by PMMA was confirmed using a transmission electron microscope （TEM）. The grafting percentage of the core-shell particles was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis （TGA）. The nano-CaCO3/PMMA core-shell par- ticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared （FTIR） spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry （DSC）. The FTIR results revealed the existence of a strong interaction at the interface of the nano-CaCO3 particle and the PMMA, which implies that the polymer chains were successfully grafted onto the surface of the nano-CaCO3 particles through the link of the coupling agent, In addition, the TGA and DSC results indicated an enhancement of the thermal stability of the core-shell materials compared with that of the pure nano-PMMA, The nano-CaCO3/PMMA particles were blended into a polypropylene （PP） matrix by melt processing. It can also be observed using scanning electron microscopy （SEM） that the PMMA chains grafted onto the CaCO3 nanoparticles interfere with the aggregation of CaCO3 in the polymer matrix （PP matrix） and thus improve the compatibility of the CaCO3 nanoparticles with the PP matrix.