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Preparation of cross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate) microspheres using an asymmetric cross-linker via dispersion polymerization and its application in light diffusers

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Abstract

Cross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microspheres have been successfully prepared by using the asymmetric cross-linker allyl methacrylate (AMA) via dispersion polymerization. The influence of the AMA amount and polymerization process on the PMMA particle size and morphology has been studied thoroughly. It was found that micron-sized, cross-linked PMMA particles with narrow size distributions could be obtained by a semi-continuous process with the asymmetric cross-linker AMA. The obtained micron-sized, cross-linked PMMA particles could be further used as a light diffusion agent in a polycarbonate matrix, and their light diffusion properties were significantly enhanced by increasing the gel content in the cross-linked particles. Moreover, the influence of the polymerization process, cross-linker content in PMMA and PMMA content in the polycarbonate matrix on light diffusion was carefully investigated. The results showed that the PMMA particles containing 5.0 wt% AMA, obtained by semi-continuous polymerization, had a higher haze and gel content and exhibited a better light diffusion effect than did the other particles.

We prepared cross-linked PMMA microspheres by dispersion polymerization with asymmetric cross-linker AMA and obtained light diffusers by blending cross-linked PMMA microspheres with matrix PC.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51873041, 51933002 and 51473037) and the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFC1100300).

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Xuechun Zhang and Wuli Yang conceived and designed the research. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Xuechun Zhang. Measurement of light diffusion property was performed by Xuechun Zhang, Yongbin Cao and Qin Jiang. Preparation of light diffusers was performed by Xuechun Zhang and Yuanying Zhang. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Xuechun Zhang, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Wuli Yang.

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Zhang, X., Cao, Y., Jiang, Q. et al. Preparation of cross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate) microspheres using an asymmetric cross-linker via dispersion polymerization and its application in light diffusers. Colloid Polym Sci 298, 495–504 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-020-04622-7

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