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Kinetics of reversible addition–fragmentation transfer ( RAFT ) miniemulsion polymerization of styrene using dibenzyl trithiocarbonate as RAFT reagent and costabilizer
Author(s) -
Kusuma Ricky Indra,
Lin ChunTa,
Chern ChorngShyan
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
polymer international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-0126
pISSN - 0959-8103
DOI - 10.1002/pi.4931
Subject(s) - miniemulsion , chain transfer , polymerization , raft , chemistry , reversible addition−fragmentation chain transfer polymerization , polymer chemistry , styrene , radical polymerization , emulsion polymerization , copolymer , organic chemistry , polymer
The roles of dibenzyl trithiocarbonate ( DBTTC ) as both costabilizer and reversible addition–fragmentation transfer ( RAFT ) reagent in RAFT miniemulsion polymerizations of styrene were investigated. The effectiveness of DBTTC costabilizer in retarding Ostwald ripening involved in the storage stability of miniemulsion is comparable to that of conventional low‐molecular‐weight costabilizers such as cetyl alcohol, but inferior to that of hexadecane. The major variables chosen for studying kinetics of RAFT miniemulsion polymerizations include the type of initiators and levels of DBTTC and surfactant. At a constant level of DBTTC , the rate of polymerization for benzoyl peroxide ( BPO )‐initiated polymerization is slower than that for sodium persulfate ( SPS )‐initiated polymerization. Furthermore, the polymerization rate decreases with increasing level of DBTTC for polymerizations initiated by BPO (or SPS ). It is the monomer droplet nucleation that governs BPO ‐initiated polymerizations. In contrast, for SPS ‐initiated polymerizations, the probability for homogeneous nucleation to take place is greatly increased, especially for polymerizations with lower levels of DBTTC and higher levels of surfactant. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry