Synthesis Of Nanoparticles Via RAFT Polymerization And The Mechanism Study Of SPI Composites

RAFT polymerization has the advantage of active polymerization, thus nanoparticles with narrow molecular weight distribution and uniform particle size are easily obtained, which can effectively improve the properties of the composite materials. In this paper, a new method named "seeded RAFT polymerization" for the modification of block copolymer nanoparticles was proposed, and a new structure of multi-compartmentalized vesicles (MCVs) was prepared. The linear and spherical nanoparticles were prepared by hydrogen bonding self-assembly through the blending of two block copolymer chains. The amphiphilic block copolymer prepared by RAFT dispersion polymerization was used in the modification of soybean protein isolate (SPI) composite. The result showed that the strength and toughness of the modified composite were improved at the same time. Infrared analysis showed no absorption peak appeared and disappeared through modification, indicating that there was no chemical reaction between PEG-b-PS nanoparticles and SPI. The contact angle of the modified films was larger than that of the unmodified films, which showed that the hydrophilicity of the film surface decreased. The total dissolved matter of the modified films was significantly lower than that of the unmodified films. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the modified films were improved by 46.8% and 81.3% respectively.