Paul Boughton
Chemists at the University of Warwick in the UK have devised an elegant process that simply and cheaply covers small particles of polymer with a layer of silica-based nanoparticles. The final result provides a highly versatile material that can be used to create a range of high-performance materials, such as self-healing paints, and packaging with tailored permeability.
The research, led by Dr Stefan Bon of the University of Warwick's Department of Chemistry, has created a 'soap-free emulsion polymerisation process' that makes colloid particles of polymer dispersed in water and, in one simple step, introduces nanometre-sized silica-based particles to the mix. These silica-based nanoparticles (about 25nm in size) then coat the polymer colloids with a layer.
This process creates a very versatile polymer latex product. It can be used to create scratch-resistant paints in which the scratches heal themselves. Alternatively it can be fine-tuned to produce polymer-based packaging which will allow water or air to pass through the packaging in precisely defined ways. The resultant rough textured spherical shapes also lend themselves to the creation of sheets with polymer that present much more surface area than usual, allowing more efficient interaction with other materials.
The versatility of the process does not stop here. By exposing the material to a second simple step, in which another polymer layer is deposited on top of the already coated polymers, the researchers are able to produce particles with an even greater range of properties and uses. The image shows such a multi-layered polymer colloid and was taken with a transmission electron microscope.
Industrialists will be interested not just in the versatility of the end product but also with the ease and cost-effectiveness of the process. The research team has worked on a number of other processes that coat polymers with protective layers, but they all require a number of steps to produce the end result. This new process is said to reduce dramatically the time needed to create such materials, and its single step can already be produced on a mass scale with currently used industrial equipment. The amount of material that can be harvested from the process will also impress industrialists, as the Warwick team have shown that the useful product can easily be made up to around 45 per cent of the volume of each water-based solution used in their process. This compares with figures of as of little as 1 to 10 per cent for comparable multi-step processes that make these complex particles.
The research paper by Patrick J Colver, Catheline A L Colard and Stefan A F Bon at the University of Warwick is entitled 'Multilayered Nanocomposite Polymer Colloids Using Emulsion Polymerization Stabilized by Solid Particles' and is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
For more information, visit www.warwick.ac.uk
The research, led by Dr Stefan Bon of the University of Warwick's Department of Chemistry, has created a 'soap-free emulsion polymerisation process' that makes colloid particles of polymer dispersed in water and, in one simple step, introduces nanometre-sized silica-based particles to the mix. These silica-based nanoparticles (about 25nm in size) then coat the polymer colloids with a layer.
This process creates a very versatile polymer latex product. It can be used to create scratch-resistant paints in which the scratches heal themselves. Alternatively it can be fine-tuned to produce polymer-based packaging which will allow water or air to pass through the packaging in precisely defined ways. The resultant rough textured spherical shapes also lend themselves to the creation of sheets with polymer that present much more surface area than usual, allowing more efficient interaction with other materials.
The versatility of the process does not stop here. By exposing the material to a second simple step, in which another polymer layer is deposited on top of the already coated polymers, the researchers are able to produce particles with an even greater range of properties and uses. The image shows such a multi-layered polymer colloid and was taken with a transmission electron microscope.
Industrialists will be interested not just in the versatility of the end product but also with the ease and cost-effectiveness of the process. The research team has worked on a number of other processes that coat polymers with protective layers, but they all require a number of steps to produce the end result. This new process is said to reduce dramatically the time needed to create such materials, and its single step can already be produced on a mass scale with currently used industrial equipment. The amount of material that can be harvested from the process will also impress industrialists, as the Warwick team have shown that the useful product can easily be made up to around 45 per cent of the volume of each water-based solution used in their process. This compares with figures of as of little as 1 to 10 per cent for comparable multi-step processes that make these complex particles.
The research paper by Patrick J Colver, Catheline A L Colard and Stefan A F Bon at the University of Warwick is entitled 'Multilayered Nanocomposite Polymer Colloids Using Emulsion Polymerization Stabilized by Solid Particles' and is published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
For more information, visit www.warwick.ac.uk