| Title | Dispersion polymerization of uniform cross-linked polystyrene microspheres in butan-1-ol |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2016 |
| Authors | Beal, J.H.L., Xu Y., Al-Salim N., and Arnold W.M. |
| Journal | Journal of Applied Polymer Science |
| Volume | 133 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Date Published | 2016 |
| ISSN | 00218995 (ISSN) |
| Keywords | Ascorbic acid, Average diameter, Carboxylic acids, Colloids, Cross-linked polystyrene, Crosslinking, Dispersion polymerization, Dispersions, Microspheres, morphology, Non-polar moiety, Optimized synthesis, Organic acids, Particle morphologies, Polymer microspheres, Polymerization, Polystyrenes, Semiconductor quantum dots, Solvents, Spherical particle, Styrene |
| Abstract | Butan-1-ol can be used as the solvent in the synthesis of poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene-co-acrylic acid) microspheres by dispersion polymerization of a mixture of styrene, divinylbenzene (DVB), and acrylic acid (AA). Varying the proportion of the crosslinker DVB affects the size distribution and particle morphology profoundly, with 0.5-1.0% w/w producing spherical particles, whereas 2.0% w/w DVB produces irregular, concave morphologies. Varying the amount of AA from 5-7% w/w increases the average diameter of the spherical particles, whereas 9% w/w AA results in ovoid particles with dimpled surface morphology. In an optimized synthesis using 1.0% w/w DVB and 5% AA, uniform polymer microspheres with an average diameter of 0.8 μm and a coefficient of variation (CV) of diameter of 8.2% are produced. The use of a medium-polarity solvent, such as butan-1-ol, as the solvent for dispersion polymerization will facilitate the incorporation of non-polar moieties, such as organically-passivated quantum dots, into the polymer during synthesis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
| URL | http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-84954349107&partnerID=40&md5=05144c83399bdbce9f6a3b7003ebe0b9 |
| DOI | 10.1002/app.43103Article |
