Confining polymerization at emulsion interface by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization on reactive Pickering stabilizer

In this paper, surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) on surface of Pickering stabilizer for microencapsulation was investigated. By SI-ATRP on initiator-immobilized SiO2 particles, emulsion droplets were involved into microcapsules. The density of PMMA chains on SiO2 surface reached 1.31 chain nm(-2) and the initiator efficiency was estimated to be 28%. The results confirmed that polymerization was confined successfully at the interface of emulsion and 80% of polymer chains were formed via SI-ATRP on Pickering stabilizer. This covalent between SiO2 and polymer endowed the prepared microcapsules with good durability and thermal reliability in phase change materials application. (C) 2015 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.