Cobalt(III)‐mediated microemulsion polymerization of acrylonitrile: Kinetics and particle morphology

Abstract

ABSTRACT:The catalytic effect of trans-dichloro-bis(ethylenediamine)cobalt(III) chloride (trans-[Co(en) 2 Cl 2 ]Cl) complex on the microemulsion polymerization of acrylonitrile, in the absence of added emulsifier, was investigated. Polymerization was studied at varying concentrations of initiator, monomer, complex, and solvent over the temperature range of 30 -70°C. The overall activation energy (E a , 39.26 kJ/mol), energy of dissociation of initiator (E d , 61.62 kJ/mol), number of micelles (0.122 ϫ 10 18 ), and viscosity average molecular weight of the polymer were computed. The distribution of particle sizes was determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that the oil-in-water microemulsion polymerization was stabilized by the presence of the Co(III) complex, reducing the particle size into the nano range. The average diameters of PAN nanoparticles, obtained by TEM, were in the range of 50 -150 nm at maximum conversion. The experimental particle size was mainly dependent on the concentration of complex and temperature.

Complex-mediated microwave-assisted synthesis of polyacrylonitrile nanoparticles

“…As 13 From the experimental data, it was observed that particle size increased with the increase in concentration of complex, as shown in Table 2. However, it is suggested that the polymerization was stabilized by the presence of the complex, with reduction of the particle size into the nano-range, which was further confirmed from TEM figure.…”

Preparation and characterization of biodegradable waterabsorbent PAN/SS nanocomposite

“…So in the present study, an attempt has been taken to highlight these aspects and to prepare PAN/SS nanocomposite via a nonconventional method in the absence of surfactant or emulsifier under the catalytic effect of an in situ developed transition metal complex Cu(II)/ glycine. Nonconventional method of synthesis of various polymers under the catalytic effect of in situ developed and also isolated complex of transition metals have already been reported [26][27][28][29] in our earlier publications. Thus the most significant outcome of the paper is the conversion of the nonbiodegradable hydrophobic homopolymer PAN into the biodegradable hydrophilic material via the application of nanotechnology.…”