Polymerization of vinyl acetate in ternary microemulsions stabilized with hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide

SummaryThe polymerization of vinyl acetate (VA) in three component o/w microemulsions stabilized with the cationic surfactant, CT AB, is presented. Initiation is achieved thermally with a water soluble initiator (V-50). Stable latex containing small particles (ca. 35 nm) with molecular weights (Mw) of around 4 × 105 are obtained. Analysis of the molecular weight distribution suggests that chain transfer to monomer (and not to polymer, which is the typical termination mechanism in emulsion polymerization, specially at high conversions) is the dominant mechanism of termination.