Monodisperse micron-sized polystyrene particles by seeded polymerization using reactive macrosurfactants

Monodisperse micron-sized polystyrene particles could be prepared through a two-staged seeded swelling and polymerization method using reactive surfactants. The seed was obtained by emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization. To prepare conventional surfactant-free monomer emulsion droplet in swelling process, a tri-block diol diacrylate (t-BDDA), which is poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) tri-block copolymer containing two chain ends capped with acryloyl chloride, was employed as a reactive surfactant instead of conventional surfactants. Thermodynamic consideration of the effect of monomer droplet size and interfacial tension on the swelling process ensured that two-staged monomer swelling could be effectively performed by using t-BDDA as a surface-active macromonomer. From the surface tension measurement and optical microscope observation, it was found that the t-BDDA had a favorable surface activity when the monomer emulsion was prepared under its cloud point. From the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, it was found that most of the t-BDDA resided on the final particle surfaces.