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Suspension polymerization of thermally expandable microspheres using low-temperature initiators

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Abstract

Thermally expandable microspheres were prepared by suspension polymerization using low-temperature initiators. The copolymer shells were made from acrylonitrile (AN) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) as the major monomers. Methacrylonitrile (MAN) was used as the third monomer to improve the expansion performance of the microspheres. This study investigated the influences of the initiator species, polymerization temperature, initiator content, and polymerization pressure on the expansion performance. Stable expandable microcapsules and good thermal characteristics were obtained successfully using 1.5 wt% azobis(4-methoxy-2.4- dimethyl valeronitrile) (V-70) as an initiator at a low temperature of 35 °C and at polymerization pressure of 3 bar. The resulting particle size without destruction and secondary nucleation showed a mean diameter of 30 μm under the optimal conditions. The encapsulated contents of the blowing agent were confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) to be 40%.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant (10045051) from Korea Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), Republic of Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Inha University, 100 Inha-ro, Namgu, Incheon, 402-751, Republic of Korea

    Mi Jung Rheem, Hyejun Jung, Sung-Hyeon Baeck & Sang Eun Shim

  2. Automotive Materials Convergence & System R&D Division, Korea Automotive Technology Institute, Chungnam, 330-912, Republic of Korea

    JinUk Ha

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  1. Mi Jung Rheem
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  2. Hyejun Jung
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Correspondence to Sang Eun Shim.

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Rheem, M.J., Jung, H., Ha, J. et al. Suspension polymerization of thermally expandable microspheres using low-temperature initiators. Colloid Polym Sci 295, 171–180 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-016-3993-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-016-3993-5

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