Synthesis of crosslinked polystyrene particles by seeded batch polymerization with monomer absorption

A highly crosslinked, monodispersed polystyrene(PS) particle was prepared by a seeded batch dispersion polymerization with a monomer absorption method. Prior to polymerization, 1.9 μm monodispersed PS seed particles were treated under an optimum condition of monomer absorption. The effects of divinylbenzebe(DVB) concentration and polymerization temperature were examined for styrene(in PS seed)/styrene(in the second stage) mass ratio of 1:1 in the medium range of EtOH/water mass ratio of 100/0-80/20 and 2.3 μm uniform crosslinked PS particles containing 15%-20% (mass fraction) DVB were prepared at 60–70 °C. The results show that monomer absorption before the second stage of polymerization is more effective to prepare highly crosslinked monodispersed PS particles.