title: The generation of void morphology inside soap-free P(MMA-EA-MAA) particles prepared by seeded emulsion polymerization.
abstract: Monodisperse soap-free P(MMA-EA-MAA) latex particles were synthesized by seeded emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethyl acrylate (EA) and methacrylic acid (MAA), and the particles with void morphology were obtained after undergoing alkali post-treatment. Effects of treatment conditions on particle morphology were investigated. Results showed that the void particles can be obtained under the conditions of the temperature >60 degrees C, initial pH >10.0, treatment time >20 min and 2-butanone amount >2.0 ml. The particle volume and the void size increased to the maximum and then decreased with the increases of initial pH and the treatment time, and these two values increased monotonously with the treatment temperature or 2-butanone amount increased. When the treatment temperature was elevated to 90 degrees C, the treatment time was longer than 180 min, or the 2-butanone amount was more than 8.0 ml, the relatively small voids inside most of the particles combined together to form a large one. The void structure disappeared completely as the initial pH was higher than 12.0. The generation mechanism of the void morphology was discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Chengyou
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kan
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Du
authors.forename: Deshan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000179:Acrylates / Q000737:chemistry*; D002074:Butanones; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000737:chemistry; D020366:Methylmethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry; D008863:Microspheres; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D000179:Acrylates; D002074:Butanones; D008689:Methacrylates; D020366:Methylmethacrylate; C008384:methacrylic acid; C005222:methylethyl ketone; C040833:ethyl acrylate