Synthesis and morphology control of raspberry-like poly(ethylene terephthalate)/polyacrylonitrile microspheres

The fabrication of raspberry-like poly(ethylene terephthalate)/polyacrylonitrile (PET/PAN) microspheres by γ-ray radiation-induced polymerization of acrylonitrile on micron-sized PET microspheres were first reported in this work. A PET emulsion was firstly prepared by dispersing a PET solution with 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane/phenol mixture as the solvent into an aqueous solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate. Then, PET microspheres were formed by precipitating the PET emulsion droplets from ethanol. The influence of the PET solvent and the weight ratio of ethanol to PET emulsion on the morphology of the PET microspheres had been investigated. After the surface of the prepared PET microspheres was grafted with poly(acrylic acid), the grafting polymerization of AN also had been successfully initiated by γ-ray radiation to form PAN microspheres with a size of about 100 nm on the PET microspheres. This work provides a new method to fabricate micron-sized PET microspheres, and further expands the functionalization of PET and its application fields.

PET microspheres are fabricated by precipitating the PET emulsion droplets from the precipitant. The grafting polymerization of AN can be further initiated by γ-ray radiation on the PET microspheres to form raspberry-like PET/PAN microspheres.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide