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Optimization of a microfluidic process to encapsulate isocyanate for autoreactive and ecological adhesives

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Abstract

The present paper reports a continuous microfluidic approach for the preparation of microcapsules (MCs), by interfacial polymerization, with a polyurea/polyurethane (PUa/PU) shell containing isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI). The microfluidic system enables the formation of a monodisperse oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion by a separate flow of the reagents along the tubing system, which posteriorly meet at a cross-junction, resulting in the precise formation of one emulsion droplet at a time. The developed MCs are intended to be part of a new monocomponent, autoreactive and ecological adhesive, as cross-linking agents. Critical operational parameters in the microfluidic process were investigated, namely the flow rate of the emulsion phases, the cross-junction’s configuration and its correlation with the MCs’ morphology, average diameter, size distribution and amount of encapsulated isocyanate. The advances achieved in the current study represent a contribution to the development of new sustainable and eco-friendly products, where the employment of monodisperse MCs is an advantage.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 program and the Regional Operational Program of Lisbon—LISBOA2020, in the scope of the Portugal2020 Project 17930, “ECOBOND—Development of new ecological, self-reactive, monocomponent adhesives.” The authors would also like to thank the support by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), to CERENA (Strategic project FCT-UID/ECI/04028/2019 and FCT-UIDB/04028/2020) and IPC (Strategic project UIDB/05256/2020 and UIDP/05256/2020) and PhD Grant SFRH/BD/140700/2018 (Mónica V. Loureiro). The authors would like to thank M. Borges, M. Osório and P. Dias for their contribution in this work.

Funding

This research was funded by the European Community Fund FEDER through the COMPETE 2020 program and the Regional Operational Program of Lisbon—LISBOA2020, in the scope of the Portugal2020 Project 17930, “ECOBOND—Development of new ecological, self-reactive, monocomponent adhesives.” In addition, Fundacão para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through the support of CERENA (FCT-UID/ECI/04028/2019 and FCT-UIDB/04028/2020), IPC (UIDB/05256/2020 and UIDP/05256/2020), and the Grant SFRH/BD/140700/2018 (M.V.L.). The funders were not involved in this research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave—IPCA, Campus do IPCA, Barcelos, Portugal

    Mariana Costa, Carla L. Simões & Ricardo Simoes

  2. CIPADE—Indústria E Investigação de Produtos Adesivos, SA. Av. 1º de Maio, 518 Z. Industrial 1, Apt. 82, 3701-909, São João da Madeira, Portugal

    Isabel Pinho

  3. CERENA, DEQ, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Rovisco Pais, 1049-001, Lisboa, Portugal

    Mónica V. Loureiro & Ana C. Marques

  4. Institute for Polymers and Composites (IPC), University of Minho, 4800-058, Guimaraes, Portugal

    Ricardo Simoes

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  1. Mariana Costa
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Correspondence to Ricardo Simoes.

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Costa, M., Pinho, I., Loureiro, M.V. et al. Optimization of a microfluidic process to encapsulate isocyanate for autoreactive and ecological adhesives. Polym. Bull. 79, 3951–3970 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-021-03690-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00289-021-03690-1

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