Latex Particle Heterogeneity and Clustering in Films

A poly(styrene-co-acrylamide) (PS-AAM) latex was prepared by emulsion polymerization and purified by sedimentation of colloidal crystals. These were diluted and dried on a mica substrate forming submonolayers that were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of physical chemistry. B 2003-12, Vol.107 (51), p.14255-14260
Main Authors: Teixeira-Neto, Érico, Kaupp, Gerd, Galembeck, Fernando
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:A poly(styrene-co-acrylamide) (PS-AAM) latex was prepared by emulsion polymerization and purified by sedimentation of colloidal crystals. These were diluted and dried on a mica substrate forming submonolayers that were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and near-field optical microscopy (SNOM). The images show domains of at least two particle types clustered within the films, in every field examined. Zonal centrifugation of the colloidal-crystal forming particles still produced three separated fractions, two of which were further cast into uniform submonolayers. These results show that latex particles have a strong tendency to cluster with identical particles even in the presence of other, similar particles. However, colloidal crystal formation has a limited tolerance to particle heterogeneity but the quality of the dry macrocrystals is strongly dependent on particle uniformity.
ISSN:1520-6106
1520-5207
DOI:10.1021/jp035718q