The effect of desorption in micellar particle nucleation in emulsion polymerization

Abstract The effect of desorption of monomer radicals from particles on the particle number generated in interval I of an emulsion polymerization is calculated by means of a semi steady state model. It is shown that desorption leads to an increase in the particle number, and at the same time the orders of particle number with respect to emulsifier and initiator are changing. The general equation of Nomura N ∝ S z 0 ϱ 1−z i is found to apply, z increasing from 0,6 to 1,0 with increasing desorption. The values of z and N are dependent on the exact reaction mechanisms in the monomer/polymer system and on rate constants of chemical reactions and diffusion processes involved in the particle formation.