title: Encapsulation of aliphatic amines using microfluidics.
abstract: The encapsulation of amines by emulsification and interfacial polymerization is important for smart adhesives and self-healing materials but has been challenging because of the reactive nature of amines and their wide miscibility range. In this study, we propose a new method to encapsulate amines using double-emulsion templates made in a microfluidic device. The double emulsions contain an aqueous solution of the amine of interest in the innermost phase and a reactive mixture of acrylic monomers and initiator in the middle phase. Polymerization of the middle phase leads to acrylic microcapsules containing highly concentrated nonvolatile amine upon removal of water via evaporation. The presence of the amine inside the capsules is confirmed with NMR spectroscopy, and their reactivity is demonstrated by showing their effectiveness as cross-linkers of liquid epoxy resins.
authors.affiliation: Complex Materials, Department of Materials, ETH Zurich , 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Philipp W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Gian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cadisch
authors.forename: André R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Studart