POLYMERIZATION OF TETRAHYDROFURFURYL METHACRYLATE IN 3-COMPONENT ANIONIC MICROEMULSIONS

Tetrahydrofurfuryl methacrylate (THFM )polymerizes at 60-degrees-C when initiated with potassium persulfate in three-component microemulsions made with Aerosol-OT (AOT) and water. The resulting monodisperse microlatex contains particles with mean diameters from 25 to 34 nm and polymer molecular weights of order 10(7). Each particle consists of approximately one polymer molecule in a collapsed state. Polymerization kinetics are followed by calorimetry, dilatometry, and internal reflectance infrared spectroscopy. Reaction rate curves show two intervals only: an interval of increasing rate immediately followed by an interval of decreasing rate. Weight-average molecular weight as measured by size-exclusion chromatography and particle size as measured by quasielastic light scattering increase during polymerization. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows the in situ formation of lamellar and multilamellar structures when excess AOT from micelles depleted of monomer exceeds its solubility in water. These findings confirm that latex particles grow by recruiting monomer from uninitiated microemulsion droplets.