The Influence of Oil-Soluble Initiator on Particle Size and Particle SizeDistribution in Miniemulsion Polymerization of MMA

According to formulation and particle size, three types ofemulsions can be defined; conventional, mini andmicroemulsions.Three mechanisms were defined for particle nucleation inemulsion systems: micellar nucleation, homogenousnucleation and droplet nucleation [1]. In miniemulsionsystems, predominant mechanism is the droplet nucleation. Toprevent micellar nucleation, the surfactant concentration inaqueous phase after sonication should be below the criticalmicelle concentration (CMC) [2]. Homogenous nucleation issuppressed significantly by using an oil-soluble initiator suchas AIBN. The solubility of initiators determines thepolymerization loci [3].