Emulsion polymerization of styrene using mixtures of hydrophobically modified inulin (polyfructose) polymeric surfactant and nonionic surfactants

Polystyrene latex dispersions were prepared by emulsion polymerization, using a mixture of hydrophobically modified Inulin (INUTEC (R) SP1) and various nonionic surfactants (cosurfactants). Two series of nonionic surfactants were used, namely Synperonic A (C13-15 alkyl chain with 7, 11, and 20 moles of ethylene oxide, EO) and Synperonic NP (nonylphenol with 10 and 15 moles of EO). For 5 wt % latex, the INUTEC SP1 concentration was kept constant at 0.0165 wt % and the initiator concentration was also kept constant at 0.0125 wt %, whereas the cosurfactant concentration was varied between 0.1 and 0.5 wt %. With the exception of Synperonic A20, all other cosurfactants showed an initial increase in particle diameter followed by a decreased reaching a value comparable with that obtained using INUTEC SP1 alone. However, A20 produced a continuous reduction in particle diameter with increase of surfactant concentration, reaching a value of 100 nm at 0.5 wt % which is lower than the value obtained using INUTEC SP1 alone (188 nm). In all cases, addition of a cosurfactant enhanced the stability of latexes by coadsorption at the solid-liquid interface. The enhanced stability produced by the addition of cosurfactants to INUTEC SP1, could be illustrated by using the mixture of INUTEC SP1 and Synperonic A7 at 40 wt % of styrene latex concentration. In this case, the mixture produced lower particle size, much lower polydispersity index and much higher stability. These results are of significant value for industrial applications. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.