Dispersion polymerization of n-butyl acrylate

The dispersion polymerization of n-butyl acrylate (BA) was investigated using alcohol/water mixtures as the dispersion medium, 4,4'-azobis-(4-cyanopentanoic acid) as the initiator, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the stabilizer. The effects of polymerization parameters, such as the alcohol/water ratio in the medium and the type and concentration of the polymeric stabilizer, on the resulting particle size and size distribution were studied. The final particle size and the stability of the dispersion system were found to be greatly influenced by the type of alcohol used in the mixture; that is, methanol or ethanol, even though the apparent solubility parameters are almost the same for the two types of mixtures, Poly(butyl acrylate) particles with controlled size and size distribution (monodisperse), and gel content were successfully prepared in a 90/10 methanol/water medium. It was found that the particle size decreased with increasing initiator concentration. This is the opposite of what was previously reported in the dispersion polymerizations of styrene and methyl methacrylate, (C) 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.