Reverse Micellar Synthesis of a Nanoparticle/Polymer Composite

Abstract

Cadmium sulfide nanoparticle/polymer composites have been produced using a one-system reverse micellar synthesis. A monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA), was used as the oil and polymerized following formation of 2-3 nm CdS particles in the fluid medium. When Aerosol OT (AOT) was employed as the surfactant, opaque solids containing 20-80 nm aggregates of the CdS nanoparticles were obtained. The aggregates were fairly uniform in size, their diameter depending on the AOT concentration. With a 1:1 weight ratio of MMA and a polyethylene diacrylate, aggregation was eliminated but the solid remained opaque. Replacing the AOT by the polymerizable surfactant didecyldimethylammonium methacrylate with MMA as the oil led to the formation of a transparent solid matrix containing nonaggregated CdS particles.

Novel polymerizable surfactants: synthesis and application in the emulsion polymerization of styrene

“…These latexes are interesting in various fields such as paints, 6 paper coatings, inks, textile sizing, adhesives, the preparation of surfactant-templated silicates, 7 polymer nanocomposites 8,9 and biomedical applications. 10 A wide variety of surfmer structures that differ with respect to polar functional groups (that is, hydrophilic and lipophilic balance) and the location of the polymerizable moiety have been reported.…”

Advances in Regenerative Medicine

“…A study of Pavel and MacKay (Pavel & Mackay, 2000) described the production of randomly dispersed (and non-aggregated) cadmium sulfide nanoparticles in a transparent polymer matrix of poly(methyl metacrylate) (PMMA). The process was based on a reverse micellar system, followed by polymerization to produce a solid inorganic/organic composite, and it was the first report in the literature of such technique to obtain a "one-system" synthesis of nanoparticles dispersed in a polymer matrix.…”

Nano-Doped Matrices for Tissue Regeneration

“…A study of Pavel and MacKay (Pavel & Mackay, 2000) described the production of randomly dispersed (and non-aggregated) cadmium sulfide nanoparticles in a transparent polymer matrix of poly(methyl metacrylate) (PMMA). The process was based on a reverse micellar system, followed by polymerization to produce a solid inorganic/organic composite, and it was the first report in the literature of such technique to obtain a "one-system" synthesis of nanoparticles dispersed in a polymer matrix.…”