Synthetic rubber monomer droplets

The technique of polymerizing emulsions of monomers to produce synthetic latexes which could be processed to produce rubbers similarly to natural rubber latex was developed in industrial laboratories in Germany, USA and the former Soviet Union fiom 1927 onwards. Thermally initiated polymerization of monomer dispersions had beat tried earlier, protective colloids were used to stabilize the monomer droplets these suspension polymerizations were very slow. 

The preparation of microparticles by emulsion polymerization, originally developed in the synthetic rubber industry (Whitby and Katz 1933), allows for the formation of microparticles with a narrow distribution of sizes. In this technique, a monomer is dispersed in a solution of surfactant and water where the surfactant creates micelles in the water. Low solubility of the monomer in water is required, such that the addition of the polymer creates large droplets of the monomer within the water. Small amounts of monomer diffuse through the water into the surfactant micelles. To begin the polymerization process, water-soluble initiator is added to the solution, propagating the monomer to form... 

He considered three possible loci for the initiation of pol5nner particle nuclei (79), based on his studies during 1942-1943 in connection with the Rubber Reserve Company (Synthetic Rubber Program of the United States Government) (1) the soap micelles, if present, (2) the aqueous phase, excluding soap micelles and polymer-monomer particles, and (3) the monomer droplets. He considered the monomer droplets as... 

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