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Improved Particle Size Control for the Dispersion Polymerization of Methyl methacrylate in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide
Author(s) -
McAllister Thomas D.,
Farrand Louise D.,
Howdle Steven M.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
macromolecular chemistry and physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.57
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1521-3935
pISSN - 1022-1352
DOI - 10.1002/macp.201600131
Subject(s) - dispersion polymerization , supercritical fluid , supercritical carbon dioxide , dispersion (optics) , methyl methacrylate , particle size , materials science , monomer , polymer , particle (ecology) , chemical engineering , polymerization , yield (engineering) , range (aeronautics) , polymer chemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , composite material , physics , oceanography , optics , geology , engineering
Dispersion polymerization is a well‐established method of producing polymer particles that are easily handled and processed. With careful choice of reaction conditions this technique can yield well defined, spherical particles for a wide range of applications. The use of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2 ) as a reaction medium offers a route to performing these syntheses without excessive use of volatile organic solvents and minimizes work‐up and disposal steps. However a significant drawback has been the fact that up till now the control of particle size and morphology from CO 2 have been limited. This study presents control of particle size and morphology over an unprecedented range for a single stabilizer in scCO 2 by coordinating a few simple parameters to tailor the conditions toward different sizes. Further, this study introduces the novel approach in scCO 2 of using delayed monomer addition which allows considerable reduction of the batch‐to‐batch variability as well as reduced agglomeration between particles.