Rod-like and spherical mesoporous SBA-15 silica particles were synthesized as pure silicas and surface modified by organosilane coupling agents firstly, and then the effects of these mesoporous materials on the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS), the stabilities of batch and semi-continuous MMA emulsion polymerizations, and the molecular weights and molecular weight distributions of the polymer products were studied. The incorporation of both unmodified and silane-modified forms of the mesoporous silica particles in the polymerization reaction increased the CMC of SDS. The presence of the unmodified mesoporous silica in the polymerization process led to instability in the batch emulsion polymerization process, as indicated by the formation of increased amounts of coagulum, and a decrease in the molecular weight of the polymer product. However, in comparison to the polymer formed in the absence of particle additives the molecular weight of the PMMA polymer increased with the amount of emulsifier and the addition of silane-modified SBA-15 particles, suggesting the growth of the polymer chains is facilitated at least in part by reaction in the pores of the particles. The improvement in molecular weight indicates that semi-continuous MMA emulsion polymerization is best suited for the preparation of PMMA-mesoporous silica composites. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:2746-2752, 2014
Different loading of mesoporous molecular sieve SBA-15 was used to prepare polystyrene (PS)/SBA-15 composite materials via in-situ emulsion polymerization. The influence of SBA-15 silica on the styrene emulsion polymerization was studied regarding to the monomer conversion, particle size and particle size distribution, stability and viscosity of the resulting emulsion. The structure and properties of the composites were investigated by infrared spectroscopy (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). In addition, the glass transition temperature (T g ), thermal mechanical property and thermal stability of the composite film were measured by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), respectively. The results indicated that the composite emulsion showed high monomer conversion, thick viscosity, low coagulum, uniform particle size and broad size distribution. Molecular weight of the polymer decreased with the increase of mesoporous silica. SBA-15 silica was dispersed evenly in PS matrix at a loading of 5 %. The PS/SBA-15 composite material containing 10 % silica maintained a certain ordered structure. DMA results demonstrated that PS/SBA-15 composite exhibited greater storage modulus and high T g compared to pure PS. The improved thermal stability and T g of the composite were also confirmed by the TGA and DSC.
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