EMULSIFICATION OF POLYMERS - EFFECT OF FINITE ADJUSTMENTS OF PARAMETERS

Direct emulsifications of polystyrene (PS) and polyisobutylene (PIE) w ere conducted, where all the latices underwent homogenization after th e initial mixing. The former utilized benzene as solvent, and removed it by vacuum distillation after homogenization; while the latter did n ot use solvent. Discernible variations in particle size were found by adjusting the polyoxyethylene chain length of nonionic surfactant, sod ium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) content, the molecular weight (MW) of PIE, o r the MW of poly(vinyl alcohol), as long as the viscosities of both th e internal and external phases are located in an appropriate range. Th e prediction of particle size based on the external phase viscosity an d Stokes' law seems closer to the experimental data than that based on the calculation of molecular areas of surfactants. For some latices, particles underwent coagulation during the vacuum-distillation process .