Synthesis and characterization of polychloromethylstyrene nanoparticles of narrow size distribution by emulsion and miniemulsion polymerization processes

Abstract

Polychloromethylstyrene nanoparticles of sizes from 12.0 ± 2.3 to 229.6 ± 65nm were prepared by the emulsion and miniemulsion
polymerization of chloromethylstyrene in an aqueous continuous phase in the presence of potassium persulfate as initiator,
sodium octylbenzenesulfonate as surfactant, and hexadecane as costabilizer for the miniemulsion polymerization process only.
The influence of various polymerization parameters (e.g., concentration of the monomer, initiator, the crosslinker monomer,
and the surfactant) on the properties of the particles (e.g., size, size distribution, and yield) has been elucidated. The
polychloromethylstyrene nanoparticles formed via the emulsion polymerization mechanism possess smaller diameter and size distribution
than those formed under similar conditions via the miniemulsion polymerization mechanism. Other differences between these
two polymerization mechanisms have also been elucidated. For future study, we wish to use these nanoparticles for the covalent
immobilization of bioactive reagents such as proteins to the surface of these nanoparticles for various biomedical applications.

KeywordsNanoparticles-Polychloromethylstyrene nanoparticles-Emulsion polymerization-Miniemulsion polymerization