Synthesis and characterization of fluoropolymer modified polyacrylate in emulsion polymerization

A novel method to produce fluorine-containing polyacrylate emulsion is presented. It is prepared by the copolymeriation of n-methyl methacrylate, n-styrene, n-butyl acrylate, and a-methacrylic acid in the presence of swollen particles of PTFE. The structure and properties of the polymers are characterized by GPC, PSD, SEM, and XPS. The number-average molar mass (Mn) 51,332, and the poly-dispersity 5.8688 are obtained. The mean diameter of latex particles is 300nm. Scanning electron microscopy reveals that particles of the emulsion are well dispersed. Meanwhile, the F-IS content of the surface on the latex membrane is 8.99%. It is shown that the method of mixing micron and nanometer-sized particles should be made the next step of research. It is also proved that inertia polymers can be used in emulsion property modification. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.