Preparation of poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide) latexes kinetic studies and characterization

✍ Scribed by David Duracher; Abdelhamid Elaïssari; Christian Pichot

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 770 KB
• Volume: 37
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0887-624X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-0518(19990615)37:12<1823::aid-pola12>3.0.co;2-#

✦ Synopsis

Thermosensitive crosslinked polymer latexes have been synthesized by precipitation polymerization of N-isopropylmethacrylamide (NIPMAM) as a main monomer, methylene bis-acrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinker, and potassium persulfate (KPS) as the initiator. Polymerizations kinetics were first investigated by studying both the influence of crosslinker (MBA) and initiator (KPS) concentrations and temperature effects on the polymerization conversion, the particle size, and water-soluble polymer (WSP) as a function of time. Particle size analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed that a short nucleation step afforded the synthesis of highly monodispersed latexes. In addition, a strong dependence of WSP formation on MBA and KPS concentration and polymerization temperature was found, as well. Comparison of particle size by SEM and quasielastic light scattering clearly evidenced the dramatic effect of temperature on particle size. Lower critical solubility temperatures (LCST) of latexes were determined and compared. Finally, based on these results, the mechanism of particle formation in this polymerization process is discussed.