Polymer, chemical physics methylmethacrylate

Surfactants have also been used to overcome the solubility limitation of synthetic polymers in CO2 (most common synthetic polymers would be considered to be C02-phobic). For example, surfactants have been used to aid in the dispersion polymerization of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) in CO2 (58-60). The surfactants used in the polymerizations of PMMA are more accurately referred to as stabilizers. The C02-phobic region acts as anchor to the growing polymer, either by physical adsorption or by chemical grafting. The C02-philic region sterically stabilizes the growing polymer particles, preventing flocculation and precipitation. When a biopolymer is not soluble in CO2, specific surfactants may be designed to aid in the solubilization of the polymer into CO2. 

Also, the method how the ablation parameters are acquired can have a pronounced influence on the results. The ablation rate can be defined either as the depth of the ablation crater after one pulse at a given fluence, or as the slope of a linear fit of a plot of the ablation depth versus the pulse number for a given fluence. Very different ablation rates can result from the two different measurement methods. This is especially the case for materials where ablation does not start with the first pulse, but after multiple pulses, or if the ablation crater depth after one pulse is too small to be measured. The process that occurs if ablation does not start with the first laser pulse is called incubation. It is related to physical or chemical modifications of the material by the first few laser pulses, which often results in an increase of the absorption at the irradiation wavelength [32,33], for example, the formation of double bonds in poly (methylmethacrylate) (PMMA). Incubation is normally observed only for polymers with low absorption coefficients at the irradiation wavelength. 

Kaith, B.S. Singha, A.S. Kumar, S. Misra, B.N. FASH202 initiated graft copolymerization of methylmethacrylate onto flax and evaluation of some physical and chemical properties. J. Polym. Mater. 2005, 4 (22), 425-432. 

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