Study On Phase Separation Of BSB Copolymer And Preparation Of Nanoparticles By Anionic Dispersion Polymerization

Due to the higher aspect ratio, the nanoparticles with the size of≤100 nm are considered as very promising candidates to reinforce the synthesized rubbers. In particular, the organic in-situ nanoparticles have the characteristic features such as solider covalent interconnection with matrix rubber, more homogeneous dispersion in the matrix and controlled size of the nanoparitcles, compared with inorganic nanoparticles. Therefore, it is well believed that these organic nanoparticles will be potentially applied in the fields of reinforcement.Considerable effort has been made in preparation of the organic nanoparticles with the controlled size. As a result, many researchers have demonstrated that reinforcement effect mainly depends on the preparation method which has effects on the size and composition of the synthesized nanoparticles. These organic nanoparticles mainly are synthesized by dispersion polymerization. However, it is still difficult to commercially produce these organic nanoparticles using dispersion polymerization method which is affected by many factors and controlled under more complex conditions. Herein, we propose a novel in-situ method different from dispersion polymerization to prepare these organic nanoparticles. It involves the following steps: firstly, BSB block copolymer is synthesized by anionic polymerization; sencondly, BSB block copolymer is dispersed in n-Hex solvent and organic nanoparticles are formed in-situ through self-assembly induced by the phase separation.The research contents include synthesis of BSB block copolymer by anionic solution polymerization, assembly of this block copolymer into nanoparticles by phase separation in solvents and cross-linking of block copolymer.The synthesized nanoparticles with the controlled size through the above-mentioned method can be used as substitute for the carbon black.