Emulsion polymerizations are usually carried out under isothermal conditions using a thermal initiator at relatively high temperatures with significant energy costs. To reduce energy costs, redox-initiated emulsion polymerization processes are being evaluated as 'green' processes, where the polymerization can be initiated at a low temperature. Isothermal KPS and redox-initiated batch emulsion polymerization processes were carried out to study the influence of the two different initiator systems on the polymerization kinetics. The high radical flux resulting from the use of redox initiators leads to the formation of latexes with much smaller particle size, lower molecular weight, and faster reaction rate compared with KPS-initiated processes. Based on reaction rates and the dependence of particle numbers on surfactant and initiator concentrations, and solids contents, it has been demonstrated that micellar nucleation is the main nucleation mechanism in KPS-initiated systems, and both micellar nucleation and homogeneous nucleation play important roles in the redox-initiated systems.

Kinetics of emulsion polymerization using thermal and redox initiators

244th National Meeting (2012)

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