Preparation of Poly(methyl methacrylate) Nanoparticles 15–50 nm in Diameter from Submicrometer-Sized Latex Particles

Abstract

A procedure was developed for preparing poly(methyl methacrylate) nanoparticles of 15–50 nm size from coarser (200–300 nm) polymer latex particles prepared by emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization. The hydrodynamic radii of the macromolecules in the t-BuOH (85 vol %)-H₂O (15 vol %) mixture at 30°C and in the i-PrOH (80 vol %)-H₂O (20 vol %) mixture at 25°C were determined by dynamic light scattering: R_h = 5.94 × 10⁻²M_w^0.3733 (R² = 0.9525) and R_h = 2.12 × 10⁻²M_w^0.4641 (R² = 0.9673), respectively.