EMULSION COPOLYMERIZATION OF STYRENE-CO-MALEIC ACID AND INCORPORATION OF CU2O INTO ITS MATRIX

Incorporation of inorganic materials into polymer matrix using emulsion polymerization technique provides many advantages. In our work, we synthesized poly(styrene-co-maleic acid) with Cu2O incorporation into the polymer matrix. The process was optimized by varying monomers weight ratio and Cu2O weight percentage. The products were characterized by Fourier Transform Infra Red spectroccopy and Particle Size Analyzer. FTIR result showed that Cu was attached to carboxylic group indicated by the shift of C=O band. From particle size analysis, the variation of Cu2O % weight did not show any significant difference, but for 15% wt of Cu2O, the particle distribution was dispersed more uniformly.