ABSTRACT
I. Role of Surfactant ................................................................................................. 388 A. Advantages and Disadvantages................................................................. 388 B. Alternatives to Their Use .......................................................................... 391
II. Emulsion Polymerization ...................................................................................... 392 A. Micellar Nucleation Mechanism............................................................... 393 B. Homogeneous Nucleation Mechanism ..................................................... 396 C. Latex Stabilization..................................................................................... 398 D. Choice of the Surfactant ........................................................................... 400
1. Anionic Surfactants.................................................................... 401 2. Nonionic Surfactants.................................................................. 402 3. Anionic/Nonionic Surfactant Mixtures...................................... 405 4. Cationic Surfactants ................................................................... 419
III. Suspension Polymerization ................................................................................... 419 IV. Miniemulsion Polymerization ............................................................................... 421 V. Inverse Emulsion Polymerization ......................................................................... 426 References ....................................................................................................................... 433
Surfactants are very extensively used in both the preparation and the application of synthetic polymeric materials. Possibly, the largest use for surfactants in this field is the emulsion polymerization and the preparation of latexes both of elastomeric and plastic polymers. There are, however, many other important applications in the polymer industry. Among these are suspension, miniemulsion, inverse emulsion polymerizations, dispersing of prepolymerized materials in water and other liquid media, creaming of natural latex, formation of plastic foams, bonding of polymers to fabrics and other materials, and dispersion of fillers and pigments into polymers.
