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The control of structure in emulsion polymerization
Author(s) -
Lee Do Ik
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
makromolekulare chemie. macromolecular symposia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-3900
pISSN - 0258-0322
DOI - 10.1002/masy.19900330110
Subject(s) - emulsion polymerization , polymerization , polymer , materials science , polymer chemistry , copolymer , emulsion , monomer , precipitation polymerization , chemical engineering , chain growth polymerization , radical polymerization , composite material , engineering
Free‐radical addition polymerization can be carried out using four different processes: mass or bulk, solution, suspension, and emulsion polymerization. Of these four processes, emulsion polymerization is unique because it is a heterogeneous process, in which the polymerization reactions can take place in three different sites: in the continuous aqueous phase, on the surface of growing particles, and within the growing particles. This unique feature of emulsion polymerization offers many possibilities for designing different polymers and latexes: e.g., high‐molecular‐weight polymers, uniform copolymers, copolymers of difficult‐to‐copolymerize monomers, functionalized (surface‐modified) latexes, uniform size latex particles, grafted latexes, and structured latexes having core‐shell, microdomain structures, interpenetrating polymer networks, etc. This paper will describe several aspects of the control of structure in emulsion polymerization.