2-(Diethyl)aminoethyl Methacrylate as a CO2-Switchable Comonomer for the Preparation of Readily Coagulated and Redispersed Polymer Latexes

Michael Cunningham (1) , Julien Pinaud (1) , Erica Kowal (1) , Philip Jessop (2)

1 Department of Chemical Engineering, Queen's University
2 Department of Chemistry, Queen's University

CO2 stimuli-responsive polystyrene latexes having a solids content of 27% were prepared in a surfactant-free emulsion polymerization (SFEP) under a CO2 atmosphere, employing only commercially available chemical compounds: styrene, the initiator VA-061, and 0.54 mol % of the CO2-switchable comonomer DEAEMA. The resulting polymer particles are 230-300 nm in diameter and are monodisperse (PDI ≤ 0.054), as confirmed by DLS, TEM, and SEM. Although they are stable under a CO2 atmosphere, the latexes can be easily destabilized by the bubbling of air through the sample at 40 °C, allowing for recovery of the particles by filtration. Recovered polymer particles can be dried to powder and readily redispersed in carbonated water, yielding latexes with very similar zeta-potential and particle size as the original latexes. In addition, the bicarbonate salt of poly(DEAEMA) formed during the polymerization has been found to act as a CO2-switchable flocculant, thus, facilitating the coagulation of the latex without altering the properties of the latex after redispersion.

Domaines: Polymères

Michael Cunningham, Julien Pinaud, Erica Kowal, Philip Jessop. 2-(Diethyl)aminoethyl Methacrylate as a CO2-Switchable Comonomer for the Preparation of Readily Coagulated and Redispersed Polymer Latexes. ACS Macro Letters, 2013, 1, pp.1103-1107. ⟨10.1021/mz3003215⟩. ⟨hal-00806925⟩