Polymer Bulletin, Vol.61, No.6, 749-757, 2008
Morphology and Characterization of Epoxy-acrylate Composite Particles
Epoxy-acrylate sample was prepared by two-stage feed emulsion polymerization. Gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectra indicated the acrylic and styrene monomer were grafted onto epoxy resin. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) showed that epoxy-acrylate composite particles with different epoxy resin content stained by pH1.5 phosphotungstic acid ( PTA) had an obvious core-shell structure, with styrene-acrylate as the core and epoxy resin as the shell. TEM micrographs also showed the acrylate cores concentrically or eccentrically were positioned inside epoxy resin shells, which was consonant with the particle structures designed. But the Epoxy Resin/Methyl Methacrylate (EP/MMA) particles showed a strange quadrangle-like structure and Epoxy Resin/Methyl Methacrylate/ Butyl Acrylate (EP/MMA/BA) particles showed a hexagon-like structure, which were different from the normal particle structures.