Synthesis of walnut-like polystyrene particles using a “giant” surfactant and its superhydrophobic property

Yingjie Wang,^abWei Huang,^abLi Huang,^abShuang Zhang,^abDaoben Hua*^ab(华道本) andXiulin Zhu^a

^aDepartment of Polymer Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, PR China
^bJiangsu Key Laboratory of Radiation Medicine and Protection, School of Radiation Medicine and Protection, and School for Radiological and Interdisciplinary Sciences (RAD-X), Medical College of Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, PR China

Polym. Chem.2013,4, 2255-2259.

A novel “giant” surfactant was used for the synthesis of walnut-like polystyrene particles with dual-size roughness surfaces by a facile “one-pot” emulsion polymerization. Specifically, the “giant” surfactant was obtained by grafting monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG) chains onto a poly(4-vinylbenzyl chloride) bulb of polystyrene dumbbell-shaped particles. Using the novel “giant” surfactant as an emulsifier, nearly monodisperse walnut-like polystyrene particles with tunable sizes were prepared by emulsion polymerization. After removal of the hydrophilic MPEG chains, the particulate films exhibited a superhydrophobic property with a static water contact angle as high as 151°. This work indicates that emulsion polymerization with “giant” surfactants can be a facile approach for fabrication of walnut-like polymeric particles and superhydrophobic particulate films.

链接：http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2013/PY/c3py21142h#!divAbstract