Mechanistic Aspects of Sterically Stabilized Controlled Radical Inverse Miniemulsion Polymerization

The kinetics of RAFT inverse miniemulsion polymerization of acrylamide are presented. The polymerizations exhibit typical behavior of controlled polymerizations under conditions-where the hydrolytic degradation of the RAFT agent is less favorable. The effects of different reaction parameters such as temperature, initiator concentration, pH of the aqueous phase, RAFT agent, and surfactant concentration on RAFT inverse miniemulsion polymerization are presented. The particle nucleation process in the inverse miniemulsion polymerizations is evaluated by the use of radical scavengers. The presence of RAFT agent was found to have a significant impact on the particle nucleation process. The fate of desorbed monomeric radicals in inverse miniemulsion polymerizations is evaluated by the comparison of the rates of propagation, re-entry, and termination. One of the potential reasons for the induction time observed in the RAFT inverse miniemulsion polymerizations is suggested to be associated with desorption of monomeric and oligomeric radicals from the particles to the continuous oil phase.