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42006-G7
Interfacial Free-Radical Polymerization

Carlos Co, University of Cincinnati

Over the grant period, we have demonstrated interfacial alternating polymerization to directly form organic and inorganic liquid core capsules. Organic polymerizations to form either w/o, o/w, or w/w capsules have been demonstrated using the alternating polymerization of hydrophobic and hydrophilic derivatives of vinyl ether and maleates. Inorganic polymerizations to form w/o, o/w, and w/w capsules were demonstrated by replacing the hydrophobic monomer with TEOS. The need interfacial hydrolysis of TEOS brings the silica source and subsequent condensation to the interface. Under diffusion limited conditions, this results in the formation of liquid-core capsules with exceptionally uniform shell thickness. Cryo and regular TEM confirms the formation of shells whose thickness are proportional to the amount of monomer added. The range of characteristic release times varies accordingly with the shell thickness and can be extended to over ~48 hours for the inorganic capsules and to a maximum of ~10 hours for the organic capsules.

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