RAFT Inverse Miniemulsion Polymerization of Acrylic Acid and Sodium Acrylate

Abstract The synthesis of well‐controlled poly(sodium acrylate) by RAFT inverse miniemulsion polymerization is presented. The effects of RAFT agent concentration, pH of the dispersed phase, types of initiator, and initiator concentration on the polymerization were studied. The partial loss of control at pH above 7 was likely due to the hydrolysis of the RAFT agent. Particle nucleation was investigated by GPC. It was found that the molecular weight distribution was unimodal when using the lipophilic initiator AIBN. Chain extension was carried out, and the morphology of the final latex (after chain extension) was analyzed by SEM. The reason for the wide particle size distribution observed is discussed. magnified image