Interplay between Aggregation and Coalescence of Polymeric Particles: Experimental and Modeling Insights.
In the present work, the aggregation behavior of polymeric particles possessing different glass transition temperatures (i.e., different "softnesses") has been studied to shed light on the interplay between aggregation and coalescence. In particular, the time evolution of the clusters hydrodynamic and gyration radii as well as of their structure factor has been monitored. With the help of an ad hoc developed deterministic model, based on population balance equations, it was possible to establish a link between the experimentally obtained light scattering data and the predicted particle size distribution. The simplicity of the model, involving one single adjustable parameter based on the coalescence characteristic time, allowed us to obtain a good accordance between simulations and experimental results with little computational effort.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States.
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S
Lazzari
Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich , Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
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B
Jaquet
Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich , Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
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L
Colonna
Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich , Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
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Storti
Univ Fribourg , Adolphe Merkle Institute, Chemin des Verdiers 4, CH-1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.
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Lattuada
Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich , Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
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Morbidelli