Particle Size in Emmulsion Polymerization of Octamethyltetrasiloxane

Abstract

In view of interest in the emulsion polymerization of octamethylcyclosiloxane, (D₄), the stability of droplets of monomer D₄ against Ostwald ripening was studied and shown to obey the LSW theory at room temperature. The emulsifier was sodium dodecyl benzylsulfonate and the mixture was initially sonicated for a few minutes. Upon polymerization, initiated with dibenzylsulfonic acid, the particle size, measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS), first increases, then rapidly decreases probably through some secondary nucleation process to become stable when the particles contain enough polymer, that can act as a stabilizer against the Ostwald ripening.

Keywords:

• Octamethyltetrasiloxane
• Emulsion polymerization
• Ostwald ripening
• Particle size

Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the program MX‐01‐005 of the Association Franco‐Chinoise pour la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (AFCRST). Thanks are extended to Christian Novat who performed the TEM analysis.