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In‐situ real‐time monitoring of particle size, polymer, and monomer contents in emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate by near infrared spectroscopy
Author(s) -
Silva Wandeklebio K.,
Chicoma Dennis L.,
Giudici Reinaldo
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.22100
Subject(s) - monomer , emulsion polymerization , methyl methacrylate , materials science , polymer , particle size , emulsion , particle (ecology) , polymerization , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , infrared spectroscopy , dynamic light scattering , analytical chemistry (journal) , organic chemistry , chemistry , nanotechnology , composite material , nanoparticle , engineering , oceanography , geology
Abstract This work reports the results of in‐situ real‐time monitoring of the emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) under different feed conditions. Besides the monitoring of the monomer and polymer content, the results show that reasonable estimates can be obtained from the spectra for the average particle size of the growing polymer particles present in the reaction medium. This is possible because the presence of the particles affects the spectra (through scattering, diffraction, and other mechanisms). Thus, by using appropriate calibration, it is possible obtain reliable models for particle size, in addition to monitoring the monomer and polymer concentrations. Experimental results for emulsion polymerizations conducted with various feed monomer conditions indicated that, in the spectral range studied, it is not only possible to monitor the evolution of the monomer and polymer contents, but also to follow the changes in the average size of the polymer particle. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2011. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers