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Fabrication of Polymer Microspheres for Optical Resonator and Laser Applications
Published on: June 2, 2017
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Surface Microstructure Regulation of Porous Polymer Microspheres by Volume Contraction of Phase Separation Process in
Jiqi Wang1, Zuoting Yang1, Jia Xu1
1School of Applied and Natural Sciences, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an, 710129, P. R. China.
Macromolecular Rapid Communications
|March 13, 2019
Summary
Researchers developed porous polymer microspheres with tunable surface morphologies, including wrinkled structures, using suspension polymerization. These materials show promise for applications like enzyme carriers and separation technologies.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Chemistry
- Materials Science
Background:
- Controlling microsphere morphology is crucial for advanced material applications.
- Suspension polymerization offers a versatile route for synthesizing polymer microspheres.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the preparation mechanism of porous polymer microspheres with controlled surface morphology.
- To explore the influence of various parameters on microsphere surface characteristics.
- To demonstrate the scalability and potential applications of wrinkled microspheres.
Main Methods:
- Suspension polymerization using monomers like glycidyl methacrylate (GMA), styrene (St), and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDA).
- Systematic variation of monomer-to-porogen ratios, toluene, and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) concentrations.
- Characterization of microsphere morphology using microscopy.
- Scale-up studies in a 100 L reactor.
Main Results:
- Achieved control over microsphere surface morphology (smooth, convex, wrinkled) by adjusting the monomer-to-porogen ratio.
- Identified the critical role of micelles in forming the "Eggshell" structure, influencing final morphology.
- Demonstrated that incorporating monomers with low glass transition temperature (Tg), like GMA, promotes wrinkled morphology.
- Confirmed that toluene and PDMS significantly impact surface morphology, with PDMS having a more pronounced effect.
- Successfully scaled up the preparation of wrinkled P(GMA-St-EGDA) microspheres, maintaining morphology and achieving >80% yield in the 80-160 µm size range.
Conclusions:
- The study elucidates the mechanism for creating diverse porous polymer microsphere morphologies via suspension polymerization.
- Wrinkled porous polymer microspheres with abundant epoxy groups can be reliably produced at scale.
- These tailored microspheres exhibit potential for enzyme immobilization, separation/purification processes, and light-scattering applications.
Keywords:
phase separationporous materialssurface-wrinkled microspheressuspension polymerizationvolume contractionMore Related Videos
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