Bio-based vesicles, with potential application in drug delivery and/or catalyst encapsulation, have been prepared by the free radical emulsion co-polymerization of tung oil, divinylbenzene (DVB), <i>n</i>-butyl methacrylate (BMA), and asolectin in a xylene/water mixture. The free radical polymerization was initiated by di-<i>tert</i>-butyl peroxide (DTBP) at 100°C in a convection oven. Molecular weights of approximately 11,000 Da were measured by Matrix-assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization-Time of Flight (Maldi-TOF) for tung oil-asolectin copolymers, verifying that significant polymerization occurs under the cure conditions employed. The cure of the co-monomer mixture employed in this work was monitored by Dielectric Analysis (DEA), while changes in the Raman spectrum of all co-monomers before and after the cure, along with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, have been used to verify the need of a post-cure step and completion of the polymerization reaction. Transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images of the emulsion after polymerization indicate that vesicles were formed, and vesicle size distribution of samples prepared with different amounts of tung oil were determined using a Zetasizer.

Emulsion polymerization of tung oil-based latexes with asolectin as a biorenewable surfactant

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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