Polymerization of butyl acrylate in anionic microemulsion

Butyl acrylate was initiated with KPS or BPO to polymerize at high monomer concentration in the microemulsions with SBOA (sodium 12-butinoyloxy-9-octadecenate) as emulsifier. The microemulsion remained clear or reddish. It was found that the constant polymerization period appeared in most microemulsions and the length of it varied with the concentration of monomer and the initiating rate. When microemulsions were initiated with KPS, the overall polymerization rate increased with the emulsifier concentration; while initiator was BPO, it showed the inverse tendency. It was attributed to the difference between the initiating mechanism of the two initiators. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.