Fabrication of core/shell hybrid organic–inorganic polymer microspheres via Pickering emulsion polymerization using laponite nanoparticles

Abstract

Oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions of styrene, as monomer oil in water, were achieved successfully via Pickering emulsification with laponite nanoparticles as the sole inorganic stabilizers. The formed emulsions showed excellent stability not only against droplets coalescence (before polymerization) but also against microparticles coagulation (after polymerization). Generally, the number of composite polystyrene microparticles (PS) increased and their sizes decreased with the content of solid nanoparticles used in stabilizing the precursor o/w emulsions. This is consistent with the formation of rigid layer(s) of the inorganic nanoparticles around the PS microparticles thus a better stability was achieved. The composite microparticles were characterized using various techniques such as surface charge, stability, transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR). Coating films of the prepared latexes were applied to flat glass surfaces and showed reasonable adhesion compared to PS latex particles prepared with conventional surfactants. The effect of employed conditions on the features of the resulting emulsions in terms of stability and particle size has been discussed.