Facile synthesis of large scale and narrow particle size distribution polymer particles via control particle coagulation during one-step emulsion polymerization

This study is an extension of the previous research results reported by our group (Colloid and Surf. A: Physicochem. Eng. Aspects 452 (2014) 159-164), where a novel approach to prepare large-scale polymer particles with a narrow distribution was reported. However, many important problems such as the visual evidence of particle coagulation, the relationship between particle distribution and particle coagulation, and the reasons of particle coagulation were not addressed in this article. In this manuscript, the polyisoprene latex particles were added to the polymerization systems as the indicator to follow the process of particle coagulation, and the reasons of particle coagulation are also discussed. The experimental results show that the final latex particles possessed a special structure similar to multicores and single-shell structure for the system containing polyisoprene particles and could be considered as a direct evidence of the particle coagulation. In addition, the competitive growth kinetics and reversible particle coagulation were used to analyze the reasons of a narrow particle size distribution of the final latex particles. In the combination with the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek theory, the effect of the aqueous phase composition and initiator types on the particle coagulation were explained in the view of interaction energy. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.