Synthesis of poly(styrene‐co‐4‐vinylpyridine) microspheres via dispersion polymerization: Effect of the concentration of 4‐vinylpyridine

Abstract

Amphiphilic copolymer microspheres of poly(styrene-co-4-vinylpyridine) were prepared by dispersion polymerization in an alcohol/water medium. The synthesis of poly(styrene-co-4-vinylpyridine) microparticles was successfully carried out, and the latexes had a spherical morphology with good monodispersity. The degree of conversion in the early stage of polymerization decreased with increasing 4-vinylpyridine (4VP) monomer content, but the final conversions were similar (>95%). The copolymerization rate decreased with increasing 4VP content, and a broad particle size distribution was observed with 20 wt % 4VP because of the prolonged nucleation time. With the 4VP concentration increasing, the molecular weight of the copolymer microspheres decreased, and the glass-transition temperature of the copolymers increased; this indicated that all the copolymers were random and homogeneous.

One-pot synthesis of {Mo6 I8 }4+ -doped polystyrene microspheres via a free radical dispersion copolymerisation reaction

“…Spherical PS microbeads with narrow size distributions are easily obtained by dispersion polymerisation of styrene in droplets stabilised by a non‐ionic surfactant, in particular PVP . However, incorporation of a polar (more hydrophilic) functionalised monomer is often very challenging: the amount of a hydrophilic monomer that can be copolymerised is limited regardless of the initial content, while incorporation of such a monomer can result in increased particle size and size distribution . On the other hand, a low concentration of the functionalised monomer within the particles limits the number of clusters that can be immobilised, since accessibility to a sufficient number of donor groups distributed within the microspheres can be difficult.…”

An innovative approach for the chemical structural characterization of poly(styrene 4‐vinylpyridine) copolymers by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry

“…Homopolymers and copolymers that contain a pyridine group have attracted significant interest in recent years because of various applications such as amphiphilic block copolymers and coordination reagents for metal nanoparticles . Poly(4‐vinylpyridine) (P4VP) is one of the typical basic polymers with a reactive pyridine group, and functional copolymers based on P4VP have been developed.…”

“…Various methods of controlled/living radical polymerization of 4‐vinylpyridine (4VP) to homopolymer and block copolymers have been reported in a plenty of papers. In particular, many papers are focused on the synthesis of the poly(styrene‐ co ‐4VP) [P(S‐4VP)] block and random copolymers and some of the cited ones on their applications . Radical polymerization requires a compound acting as a source of odd‐electron species; in nitroxide‐mediated radical polymerization (NMRP) one of the most important compounds and most used for P(S‐4VP) synthesis is 2,2,6,6‐tetramethylpiperidin‐1‐yl)oxyl (TEMPO).…”

“…Various solid‐state techniques are used to characterize the copolymers and the resulting composites, for example, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Techniques in solution, for example, light scattering and 1 H‐nuclear magnetic resonance ( 1 H‐NMR), are used too …”