Precipitation Polymerization in Acetic Acid: Study of the Solvent Effect on the Morphology of Poly(divinylbenzene)

This paper reports on two important results regarding the precipitation polymerization of poly(divinylbenzene) (PDVB) in acetic acid (HAc). (1) Acetic acid is a novel kind of solvent worthy of investigation because it is amphipathic and innoxious. Thus, two kinds of model solvents, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) and n-heptane, were selected to investigate the solvent effect on the particle morphology of PDVB-55 during precipitation polymerization in acetic acid. Monodisperse PDVB-55 microspheres were obtained with an MEK content of 30 vol % and a DVB loading of 2 vol %. Odd-shaped particles were found to almost disappear when MEK was added. For MEK contents up to 90 vol %, space-filling macrogels consisting of small particles with diameters of around 10 nm were obtained. More homocoagulated particles were produced when n-heptane was added, for which concentrations up to 50 vol % gave rise to cauliflower-like particles. Thus, in the acetic acid system, microspheres, pumpkin-like particles, macrogels, and coagul...