title: On the stability of miniemulsions in the presence of RAFT agents.
abstract: The colloidal stability of miniemulsions in the presence of RAFT or other control agents for controlled free radical polymerization is examined. A derivation, based on Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner (LSW) theory, is proposed here to evaluate the effect of a RAFT agent on the diffusional stability of the miniemulsions before the onset of polymerization. Results indicate that, depending on the hydrophobicity of the control agent, its presence may augment or detract from the effectiveness of the costabilizer in preventing diffusional instability due to Ostwald ripening.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
authors.forename: Genggeng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: F Joseph
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Schork