A mathematical model for cluster migration during the development of the particle morphology in emulsion polymerization has been developed. The motion of the clusters is due to the balance between the van der Waals forces and the viscous forces. Several illustrative calculations are presented including systems for which the final equilibrium morphologies were (i) core-shell, (ii) inverted core-shell, and (iii) occluded morphology.
A mathematical model for the development of particle morphology in
emulsion polymerization has been developed. The polymer particles are considered to
be a biphasic system comprising
clusters of polymer 1 dispersed in a matrix of polymer 2. The
model accounts for both polymerization
and cluster migration. Polymerization of monomer 1 occurs both in
the polymer matrix and in the clusters.
The polymer 1 formed in the matrix diffuses instantaneously into
the clusters. The clusters migrate
toward the equilibrium morphology to minimize the free energy of the
system. The driving forces for the
motion of the clusters are the van der Waals interaction forces between
the clusters and the aqueous
phase and those between the clusters themselves. The effect of
polymer matrix viscosity on the cluster
motion is included. Illustrative simulations and comparisons with
experimental data are presented.
A mathematical model for the development of the particle morphology in emulsion polymerization has been developed. The model accounts for phase separation leading to cluster nucleation, polymerization, polymer diffusion, and cluster migration. The model has been used to simulate batch emulsion polymerizations of methyl methacrylate on a polystyrene seed for which experimentally determined particle morphologies have been reported. A good agreement between experimental results and model predictions was achieved. On the other hand, sensitivity analysis showed that the final particle morphology was not significantly affected by either the initial cluster volume or the cluster nucleation rate constant.
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