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Effect of stirring on the emulsion polymerization of styrene
Author(s) -
Nomura Mamoru,
Harada Makoto,
Eguchi Wataru,
Nagata Shinji
Publication year - 1972
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/app.1972.070160403
Subject(s) - emulsion polymerization , polymerization , monomer , styrene , emulsion , chemical engineering , polymer , micelle , polymer chemistry , particle (ecology) , materials science , precipitation polymerization , aqueous solution , particle size , radical polymerization , chemistry , copolymer , organic chemistry , composite material , oceanography , engineering , geology
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the effect of stirring on the course of emulsion polymerization of, for example, styrene. It establishes the existence of an optimum range of stirring speed and three important factors which must be considered in carrying out emulsion polymerization. (1) Stirring significantly affects the course of reaction in the presence of an imperfectly purified nitrogen atmosphere. Consequently, the number of polymer particles produced and the polymerization rate per particle will be affected. (2) At higher stirring speeds, polymer particles coagulate and coalesce. At lower stirring speeds, the reaction rate is controlled by the monomer transport rate from monomer droplets to the aqueous phase. (3) Stirring contributes to the reduction of the number of micelles because emulsifier molecules are adsorbed onto the surfaces of monomer droplets finely dispersed by the stirring. At low emulsifier concentrations near the critical micelle concentration, this effect cannot be neglected.