Polybutadiene latexes made in emuIsifier-free emulsion polymerization with diameters ranging from 50 to 300 nm of both unimodal and bimodal particles size distributions were analyzed by the line-start (LIST) method in a Brookhaven Disk Centrifuge Photosedimentometer (DCP). A special spin fluid was designed to be able to sediment polybutadiene since the density of the polymer is 0.89 gcm-a and is thus less dense than its suspending medimn. Density and viscosity gradients were created simply by adding five different mixtures of ethanol, water, and emulsifier in density sequence to the spinning disk. Coagulation problems caused by diluting polybutadiene latices with ethanol were overcome by using nonionic Triton X-100 surfactant. Good agreement in the average particle size and distribution as well as polydispersity between transmission electron microscope and disk centrifuge data was accomplished. The analysis time for polybutadiene latex particle sizing thus was reduced from several days to approximately 1 h.
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