The Effect of Sodium Dodecyl Benzene Sulfonate on Particle Size in Suspension Polymerization of Styrene: A New Investigation

It is well known that inorganic solids can be used for droplet stabilization in suspension polymerization. This work investigates the effect of tricalcium phosphate (TCP) as an inorganic stabilizer and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) as a surface active agent for suspension polymerization of styrene. The results show that when large amounts of TCP is used, the amount of SDBS has no effect on particle size. The effect of concentration of SDBS will be very important if a small amount of TCP is used. Scanning electron microscopy analysis shows that TCP is adsorbed on the surface of monomer droplets and also the coalescence factor changes with concentration of SDBS in the solution.

Keywords:

• Polystyrene
• Sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS)
• Tricalcium phosphate (TCP)
• Suspension polymerization
• Bead size