Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization of methyl methacrylate in emulsion

Abstract Theoretical simulations showed that for controlled/living radical polymerization in an emulsion system, some of the earliest born particles could be superswollen to a size close to 1 μm. We hypothesized that the superswelling of these particles would lead to colloidal instability. Under the guidance of the simulation results, reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was carried out. Experimental results showed that increasing the initiation rate, surfactant level, and targeted molecular weight could improve the colloidal stability of the RAFT polymerization of MMA in an emulsion. The experimental results were in full accord with the theoretical predictions. The poor control of the molecular weight and polydispersity index was found to have a close relationship with the colloidal instability. For the first time, we demonstrated that RAFT polymerization could successfully be implemented with little coagulum, good control of the molecular weight, and a low polydispersity index with the same process used for traditional emulsion polymerization but with higher surfactant levels and initiation rates. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44:2837–2847, 2006