Abstract
A novel method has been developed for organotellurium-mediated radical polymerization (TERP) in emulsion, herein implemented for styrene using the low molecular weight TERP agent ethyl-2-butyltellanyl-2-methyl propionate (BTEE) at 90 °C in the absence of a conventional radical initiator. The method is based on the use of relatively high concentrations of the two surfactants polyoxyethylene(20) oleyl ether (Brij98; nonionic surfactant) and tetradecyltrimethylammonium bromide (TTAB; cationic surfactant) in the presence of toluene. This is a one-pot approach that does not require high energy mixing nor the use of a water-soluble macroTERP agent, but instead relies on a high initial monomer fraction being located in surfactant micelles (importantly, the system is not a microemulsion). Good control/livingness was obtained in conjunction with satisfactory colloidal stability and relatively narrow particle size distributions with particle diameters mainly in the range well below 100 nm.
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