Photoinitiated dispersion polymerization using polyurethane based macrophotoinitiator as stabilizer and photoinitiator

Polyurethane based macrophotoinitiator (PU-PI) had been designed and synthesized, and applied to photoinitiated dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate as both photoinitiator and stabilizer, with ethanol/water mixture as reaction medium. Monomer conversion over 90% was achieved within 25 min of UV irradiation at room temperature, and monodisperse PMMA microspheres were obtained. The structure of the microspheres had been analyzed by XPS, showing that about 50% of surface of the microspheres were covered with the stabilizer. PU-PI effectively stabilized the polymeric particles in photoinitiated dispersion polymerization due to the unique stabilization process. The size and size distribution of the microspheres became insensitive to the reaction condition such as stabilizer/initiator concentration, initial monomer concentration and reaction medium. The size of the microspheres obtained changed in the range from 0.88 μm to 1.06 μm at different reaction condition, with polydispersity index as low as 1.011. The research may provide a quick and facile approach to prepare monodisperse microspheres with tailored functional surface.

Graphical abstractDownload full-size image