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Cross-linked starch nanoparticles stabilized Pickering emulsion polymerization of styrene in w/o/w system

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Abstract

Here, we present a method to synthesize expandable spherical polystyrene beads containing well-dispersed water microdroplets. The beads, 2–3 mm in diameter, were prepared through surfactant-free Pickering emulsion polymerization in water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) system using cross-linked starch nanoparticles (CSTN) as emulsifier. The CSTNs were in situ surface-modified by styrene maleic anhydride copolymer as confirmed by infrared spectroscopy and contact angle analysis. The entrapped water microdroplets with the average size of 3–4 μm were shown to be surrounded by a dense layer of the CSTN. The number droplet density as well as water encapsulation efficiency in the polystyrene beads increased with the CSTN concentration. Furthermore, regardless of CSTN content, all samples exhibited high encapsulation stability of over 68 % after 3 months. These characteristics along with good expansion behavior suggest the synthesized beads as expandable polystyrene containing water as a green blowing agent.

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Acknowledgment

The authors thank the Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST), Georgia Tech for experimental facilities and infrastructure. Rui Zhao, Sudhier Sharma, and Wei Mu in IPST are greatly acknowledged for providing technical support. We also thank the respected reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.

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  1. Nader Taheri Qazvini

    Present address: School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polymer Division, School of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Nasser Nikfarjam & Nader Taheri Qazvini

  2. School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Nasser Nikfarjam & Yulin Deng

Authors
  1. Nasser Nikfarjam
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  2. Nader Taheri Qazvini
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Correspondence to Nader Taheri Qazvini or Yulin Deng.

Appendix A: calculation of n pt /n pa ratio

Appendix A: calculation of n pt /n pa ratio

The total number of CSTN particle in a defined volume of bead can be calculated from:

$$ {n}_{pt}=\left(3C{V}_b{\rho}_b\right)/\left(400\pi {\rho}_p{r}_p^3\right) $$
(A1)

For water droplets of radius r e stabilized by CSTN particles of radius r p , assuming that r e   >   r p and that the particles are arranged in a hexagonal close-packed (HCP) arrangement on droplet surfaces and taking the contact angle that the particles make with the oil–water interface equal to 90°, the total number of particles surrounding all droplets in a defined volume of bead (V b ) is as follows:

$$ {n}_{pa}=\left(4{N}_{\circ }{V}_b\pi {r}_e^2\right)/\left(2\sqrt{3}{r}_p^2\right) $$
(A2)

Combination of equations A1–A2 leads to the following expression for the total number of particles available to the number of particles required to form a single layer covering the available droplet surfaces.

$$ {n}_{pt}/{n}_{pa}=\left(3\sqrt{3}C{\rho}_b\right)/\left(8\times {10}^{-16}{N}_{\circ }{\pi}^2{\rho}_p{r}_p{r}_e^2\right) $$
(A3)

With C = weight percent of particle (percent), ρ b   = density of bead (grams per cubic meter), ρ p  = density of particle (grams per cubic meter), r p  = radius of particle (nanometers), r e  = radius of droplet (nanometers), and N ∘ = number density of droplets (number per cubic millimeter).

Appendix B: calculation of the number of particle layers around the droplets

The following expression is used to find an equation to calculate the thickness of particle layers (x) around the droplets in a defined volume of bead and taking the contact angle that the particles make with the oil–water interface equal to 90°:

$$ \frac{\mathrm{total}\ \mathrm{number}\ \mathrm{of}\ \mathrm{particle}}{\mathrm{number}\ \mathrm{of}\ \mathrm{droplets}}=\frac{\left(\mathrm{volume}\ \mathrm{of}\ \mathrm{particle}\ \mathrm{layers}\right)\times \left(\mathrm{HCP}\ \mathrm{packing}\ \mathrm{density}\right)}{\mathrm{volume}\ \mathrm{of}\ \mathrm{particle}} $$

This yields

$$ \left(9\sqrt{2}C{\rho}_b\right)/\left(4\times {10}^{-16}{N}_{\circ }{\pi}^2{\rho}_p\right)={\left({r}_e+x\right)}^3+{r}_e^3 $$
(B1)
figure a

With C = weight percent of particle (percent), ρ b  = density of bead (grams per cubic centimeter), ρ p  = density of particle (grams per cubic centimeter), r e  = radius of droplet (nanometers), N ∘ = number density of droplets (numbers per cubic millimeter), and x = thickness of particle layer (nanometers).

With considering the HCP unit cell height and the number of layers in every unit cell, the number of layers around the droplets (L) can be calculated by the following equation:

$$ L=3x/{r}_p\left(4\sqrt{\left(2/3\right)}+1\right) $$
(B2)

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Nikfarjam, N., Taheri Qazvini, N. & Deng, Y. Cross-linked starch nanoparticles stabilized Pickering emulsion polymerization of styrene in w/o/w system. Colloid Polym Sci 292, 599–612 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-013-3102-y

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