Micro-emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate initiated with potassium persulphate

Abstract

Polymerization of a methyl methacrylate micro-emulsion stabilized with a specially designed emulsifier was studied using potassium persulphate as initiator. The growth of polymer particles during the entire polymerization was detected with photon-correlation spectroscopy. It was found that the particle size continuously decreased with conversion, and that new polymer particles were still formed at very high conversion. The polymerization kinetics was also studied and is discussed on the basis of the polymerization mechanism. © 1998 Society of Chemical Industry