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Colloid and Polymer Science, April 2014, Volume 292, Issue 4, pp 991-1001.
Jurgen Scheerder,Harm Langermans.
DSM Coating Resins, Sluisweg 12, 5145 PE, Waalwijk, The Netherlands and
DSM ChemTech Center, ACES Colloids and Interfaces, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167 RD, Geleen, The Netherlands.
Abstract
Two cationic polymers with similar composition were prepared by two different polymerization methods. By monitoring the evolution of the molar mass and chemical composition during the reactions together with charge density measurements and calculations, it was concluded that the cationic polymer synthesized by emulsion polymerization had a less uniform compositional distribution than the cationic polymer prepared by solution polymerization. Contributing to the heterogeneity was the hydrolysis of one monomer (dimethylamino ethylmethacrylate (DMAEMA)) during the synthesis. As a result, the polymer prepared by emulsion polymerization had a more blocky structure and was more surface active as supported by static and dynamic surface tensions data. Fluorescence experiments showed that both polymers formed aggregates at very low concentrations of approximately 0.01 wt%. The aggregates of the polymer prepared by emulsion polymerization were compact, whereas the solution polymerization-based polymer aggregates exhibited a rather expanded geometry.
