Formation of microporous polymeric materials by microemulsion radiation polymerization of butyl acrylate

A microemulsion system composed of butyl acrylate (BA) and water with a mix ture of sodium 12-acryloxy-9-octadecenate (SAO) and octylphenoxypoly(ethoxy ethanol) as an emulsifier was initiated by gamma-ray radiation at room temp erature to polymerize and produce microporous polymeric materials. The morp hology and swelling characteristics of the resulting polymeric materials we re studied. It was found that they strongly depended on the composition (wa ter content, crosslinker content, emulsifier content) of the precursor micr oemulsions. In addition, the swelling properties of the polymer so prepared were found to be sensitive to the pH of the swelling medium. The change in swelling behaviors of the polymeric materials is discussed in terms of the polyelectrolyte effect exhibited by the polymerized anionic emulsifier SAG . (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 1989-1993, 2000.