Cationic Microemulsion Polymerization of Alkyl Acrylates

Abstract

Here we present the polymerization of n-butyl acrylate (BA), ethyl acrylate (EA) and methyl acrylate (MA) in tri-component microemulsions, using a cationic surfactant such as dodecyl trimetyl ammonium bromide in water, as a function of temperature, initiator type and, monomer and initiator concentration. The final latexes are transparent and blue color, with particle size ranging between 20 and 60 nm determined by quasielastic light scattering (QLD) and SEC molar masses of the order of 106 g/mol. Reaction times are short and reaction rates are high with final conversions between 70 and 98% depending on the monomer and the reaction conditions.