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Preparation of toughened PMMA through PEG‐modified urethane acrylate/PMMA core–shell composite particles
Author(s) -
Park JinGyu,
Kim JuYoung,
Suh KyungDo
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4628(19980912)69:11<2291::aid-app22>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , composite number , emulsion polymerization , acrylate , butyl acrylate , natural rubber , particle (ecology) , polymer , particle size , toughness , polymerization , copolymer , chemical engineering , oceanography , engineering , geology
Abstract Poly(urethane acrylate) (PUA)/poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) core–shell composite particles were prepared by two‐stage emulsion polymerization. The sizes of composite particles could be varied from 25 to 210 nm by introducing polyoxyethylene (POE) groups to the urethane acrylate molecular backbone. Core–shell morphology was identified by investigating the polarity of the surface of the core and shell polymer particles and by measuring the contact angle of the composite particles. A composite particle prepared with relatively small particles (about 20 nm) did not show the core/shell morphology, because the high polar surface of the core polymer particle and the low‐stage ratio of the core to the shell cause the formation of a core/shell two‐stage latex to be more thermodynamically unstable. The fracture toughness of rubber‐toughened PMMA containing PUA/PMMA composite particles increased as the particle sizes decreased and the shell thickness of the composite particles increased. In particular, when the average size of the composite particle was about 43 nm and the stage ratio was 50/50, the fracture toughness of the rubber‐toughened PMMA increased more than three times compared with that of pure PMMA. Furthermore, the transparency of toughened PMMA could be maintained up to 91% in the visible spectra range. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 69: 2291–2302, 1998