Fabrication of polystyrene microshells by dried-gel droplet method

The technological processes of polystyrene (PS) initial granules and the hollow microshells formed on a vertical drop furnace from the granules dealt with a foamer were investigated. The initial granules were produced by one step emulsion techniques. Influences of phase ratio and stirring intensity on the diameter distributions of initial granules were discussed, and alcohol was selected as a foamer according to the boiling point and solubility. Then the effects of temperature, gaseous compositions and pressures inside the furnace on the quality of PS microshells fabricated from the granules were tested. As a result, optimal conditions were selected to make PS microshells with outer diameters of 400-900 μm , wall thickness of 2-10 μm and concentricity better than 95%.