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Preparation of cross-linked poly (methyl methacrylate) microspheres by post-crosslinking method and its application in light diffusers

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Abstract

Cross-linked polymer microspheres are widely used in biomedicine, flat panel display, analytical testing, in vitro diagnostics, semiconductor chips, and light diffusion. However, the process of preparing micron-sized cross-linked polymer microspheres is complicated, and it is difficult to obtain a high crosslinking degree conveniently. In this work, we applied post-crosslinking strategy to prepare poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microspheres having a high crosslinking degree by dispersion polymerization, while the method separated the polymerization process and cross-linking process of microspheres. In the method, the silane coupling agents containing double bonds were used as the comonomer in polymerization and hydrolyzed to form Si–O–Si cross-linked structure at the later stage. The obtained microspheres are not only highly cross-linked but also have uniform particle size distribution and good thermal stability. The produced cross-linked PMMA microspheres exhibit great light diffusion properties and might be employed as a light diffusion agent in a polycarbonate matrix.

Graphical Abstract

We prepared the cross-linked PMMA microspheres by post-crosslinking method and mixed the cross-linked PMMA microspheres with the matrix PC to obtain the light diffusers.

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The data used to support the findings of this study are included in the article and supplementary information.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51933002 and 51873041) and the Program of Shanghai Academic Research Leader (20XD1400400).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers &, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, People’s Republic of China

    Dan Shu, Sicong Tu, Shuting Mai, Jian Xu & Wuli Yang

Authors
  1. Dan Shu
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  2. Sicong Tu
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  3. Shuting Mai
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  4. Jian Xu
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  5. Wuli Yang
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Contributions

D. Shu and W. L. Yang conceived and designed the research. D. Shu was in charge of material preparation, data collecting, light diffuser preparation, and light diffusion property measurement. D. Shu led the analysis of the entire experimental data with the help of S. C. Tu, S. T. Mai, and J. Xu. D. Shu wrote the initial manuscript, and other contributors commented on following drafts. All of the writers read and approved the final paper.

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Correspondence to Wuli Yang.

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Shu, D., Tu, S., Mai, S. et al. Preparation of cross-linked poly (methyl methacrylate) microspheres by post-crosslinking method and its application in light diffusers. Colloid Polym Sci 301, 613–622 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-023-05091-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-023-05091-4

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