Effect of Agitation on Density of Poly(vinyl acetate) Particles Produced in Suspension Polymerization Reactions

Abstract

Poly(vinyl acetate) particles are produced through suspension polymerization reactions at different agitation speed. As expected, particle size distributions are strongly affected by the increasing speed of agitation. Surprisingly, the latter also causes the decrease of particle densities, which can be explained by encapsulation of small water droplets by the viscous reacting medium. Encapsulation of water droplets can lead to the formation of hollow particles that can be observed through microscopic analyses.

Use of Bacterial Nanocellulose for Pickering Stabilization of Methyl Methacrylate Suspension Polymerizations

“…That is in accordance with results presented by Cordeiro et al (2004), who showed that vigorous agitation might lead to encapsulation of small water droplets in suspension polymerizations. [23] Figure 3b shows the spherical particles obtained when NCF was used, which are the fibrous white materials located on the surfaces of the PMMA particles, in accordance with the expected pickering stabilization mechanism. Besides, PMMA particles prepared with NCF were smaller than PMMA particles prepared with NCC, indicating the better stabilization capacity of NCF when compared to NCC.…”