Preparation of Poly (MMA-S-DVB) Microspheres by Suspension Polymerization Method

Abstract

In this work, Poly (methy methacrylate-styrene-divinyl benzene) (MMA-S-DVB) microspheres were prepared by suspension polymerization approach in the presence of n-dodecane as porogenic agent. Various types of measurements,such as binocular biological microscope with micrometer, fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and N2 absorption analysis (BET) were conducted to characterize the MMA-S-DVB microspheres. The effect of the amount of surfactants (PVA and NaCl), porogenic agent and crossing agent (DVB) on the morphology of microspheres was investigated and mass ratio of oil/water and the stirring speed were also discussed. Finally, according to the experimental results,the optimum experimental condition was obtained as follow: the mass ratio of S:MMA:DVB=3:3:4, the concentration of PVA in the water phase is 2.2 wt %, the concentration of NaCl is 5 wt %, the mass ratio of oil/water is 1:11, the stirring speed is 500rpm.Via controlling the optimum reaction conditions of the suspension polymerization, the crosslinked macroporous resin polymer MMA-S-DVB microspheres with excellent sphericity and controllable diameter in a range of 200~400 μm can be gained.