Size-controlled spherical polymer nanoparticles: Synthesis with tandem acoustic emulsification followed by soap-free emulsion polymerization and one-step fabrication of colloidal crystal films of various colors

作者：Hirai Yuki; Nakabayashi Koji; Kojima Maya; Atobe Mahito^*

来源：Ultrasonics Sonochemistry, 2014, 21(6): 1921-1927.

DOI：10.1016/j.ultsonch.2013.12.006

• Tandem acoustic emulsification
• Size-controlled polymer particle
• Colloidal crystal film
• Structural color
• Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)

We have developed a novel synthesis method for size-controlled polymer nanoparticles using soap-free emulsion polymerization. This new synthetic method involves sequential ultrasonic irradiation (20 kHz -%26gt; 500 kHz -%26gt; 1.6 MHz -%26gt; 2.4 MHz) for acoustic emulsification of a water-insoluble monomer such as methylmethacrylate (MMA) in an aqueous medium, followed by emulsion polymerization in the obtained solution without using any surfactants. The sequential ultrasonication (tandem acoustic emulsification) could provide a clear and stable emulsified solution containing monomer droplets with relatively narrow size distribution in the nanometer range. The subsequent polymerization in this solution yielded size-controlled polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) nanoparticles and monodisperse PMMA nanoparticles of different sizes. Furthermore, colloidal crystal films could be easily prepared from the as-polymerized nanoparticle solution using the fluidic-cell method. Moreover, we succeeded to modify the structural color of colloidal crystal films by the addition of a small amount of organic solvent to the as-polymerized nanoparticle solution for the fluidic-cell method.

• 出版日期2014-11