ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the recent history of heterophase polymerization, by reviewing some of the most relevant advances reported in the last decade in the scientific literature. Heterophase polymerization is a scientific and industrial field with a long history of more than a century of discoveries and theoretical developments. Surfactants, dispersants, and stabilizers, in general, are one of the key ingredients in most heterophase polymerization formulations. Controlled radical polymerization has become very important for heterophase polymerization, not only because it allows the synthesis of a wide variety of novel surfactants and stabilizers, but also because it allows a precise control of the architecture and molecular mass of the final polymer. Despite the huge progress achieved so far in understanding heterophase polymerization kinetics and its underlying mechanisms, experimental information on particular systems is needed. Y. Zhang and M. A. Dube presented a nice review of the applications of the principles of green chemistry and engineering on emulsion polymerization processes.
