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In‐Situ Incorporation of Poly(methyl methacrylate) in Suspension Styrene Polymerizations
Author(s) -
Castor Carlos A.,
Nele Márcio,
Pinto José Carlos
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
macromolecular reaction engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1862-8338
pISSN - 1862-832X
DOI - 10.1002/mren.201400007
Subject(s) - methyl methacrylate , styrene , molar mass , polymer chemistry , materials science , polymer , copolymer , suspension (topology) , in situ , poly(methyl methacrylate) , suspension polymerization , particle (ecology) , particle size , chemical engineering , chemistry , composite material , organic chemistry , oceanography , mathematics , homotopy , pure mathematics , engineering , geology
Blends of poly(styrene)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS/PMMA) are produced in situ during suspension polymerizations of styrene performed in the presence of PMMA. The effects caused by the in situ incorporation of PMMA on the kinetic behavior of the reaction and on the molar mass distributions (MMD) and particle size distributions (PSD) of the obtained PS/PMMA polymer particles are evaluated. It is shown that the PMMA content can lead to significant changes of the initial viscosity of the reaction medium, also leading to significant changes of styrene conversions during the reaction course. Besides, addition of PMMA can cause an increase of the average molar masses and average particles sizes of the obtained polymer beads, also leading to broadening of the MMD and PSD of the final resin.