Preparation of monodisperse poly(methyl methacrylate) microspheres: effect of reaction parameters on particle formation, and optical performances of its diffusive agent application

Abstract

A 3.84 um monodisperse poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microsphere was prepared by dispersion polymerization in methanol (MeOH)/water (H2O) media. 2,2′-azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were utilized as initiator and steric stabilizer, respectively. The effects of the PAA stabilizer, AIBN initiator, H2O solvent and MMA monomer on PMMA particle size and size distribution were reviewed in the first section. The optical properties including total transmittance (T%) and transmittance haze (H%) were performed when the monodisperse PMMA microsphere was applied as a diffusive agent. The result was examined in terms of total interface area in system, and to compare with the performance of three polystyrene (PSt) microspheres with 1.10 um, 3.13 um and 5.21 um in diameter under the same condition.