Print Email Facebook Twitter Optimal ionic strength for nonionically initiated polymerization Title Optimal ionic strength for nonionically initiated polymerization Author Dobrowolska, M.E. Koper, G.J.M. Faculty Applied Sciences Department Chemical Engineering Date 2013-11-27 Abstract Surfactant-free emulsion polymerization involving a nonionic, and hence uncharged initiator presents a new approach towards environmentally friendly procedures to synthesize latex particles. Under optimal solvent conditions, notably pH and ionic strength, the latex particles are stabilized by the natural development of ionic charge at the surface of the particles. We emphasize that the present process does not at all involve the addition of stabilizers such as surfactants or the creation of surface-active species from ionic initiators. The width of the size distribution is found to vary strongly with experimental conditions, notably the ionic strength and to a much lesser extent pH. The phenomenon is explained by a critical ionic strength dependence of the aggregation of the just nucleated primary particles into larger secondary particles, the so-called “coagulative nucleation” step. Subject Gold for GoldOpen Access To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:016854ac-6322-44a4-927a-0329e5b690d2 DOI https://doi.org/10.1039/c3sm51998h Publisher RSC Publishing ISSN 1744-683X Source Soft Matter, 2014,10 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights (c) 2013 RSC Files PDF c3sm51998h.pdf 214.94 KB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:016854ac-6322-44a4-927a-0329e5b690d2/datastream/OBJ/view