JOURNAL OF POLYMER ENGINEERING

 Vol. 22, No. 6, 2002, page 417

DEVELOPMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POROUS MULTI-COMPONENT POLYMER PARTICLES HAVING A SELECTIVE ABSORPTION CHARACTERISTIC

M. Shach Caplan and M. Narkis

Department of Chemical Engineering

M.S. Silverstein

Department of Materials Engineering

Technion-IIT, Haifa, Israel

ABSTRACT

Unique porous semi-IPN PVC (polyvinyl chloride) particles were prepared by using a stabilizer-free polymerization/crosslinking method, developed in this research, of a monomer absorbed within a porous suspension-type PVC particle. The monomer/crosslinker pairs selected are styrene/DVB (divinyl benzene), methyl methacrylate/EGDMA (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate), butyl acrylate/EGDMA and ethylhexyl acrylate/EGDMA.

     The influence of composition, process parameters and nature of the polymerizing/crosslinking constituents on the modified PVC particle structure was studied by microscopy methods, porosity measurements and dynamic mechanical behavior (DMTA). The level of molecular grafting between PVC and the modifying polymer was determined by non-extractable fraction.

     This work shows that the different monomers used represent distinct courses of monomer transport through the PVC particles. The modified PVC particle’s characteristics indicate that the polymerization/crosslinking process occurs in both the PVC bulk, i.e. the walls constituting a particle and also within the PVC pores. No indication of chemical intermolecular interaction within the modified PVC particles was found.

     The modified particles developed were studied for the purpose of removal, via adsorption/absorption, of halogenated organic compounds from water. The presence of the different modifying polymers within the PVC particles was found to have a distinct effect on the halo-organics absorption performance.

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