Encapsulation of inorganic particles via miniemulsion polymerization. I. Dispersion of titanium dioxide particles in organic media using OLOA 370 as stabilizer

The dispersion of hydrophilic and hydrophobic titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles in organic media (styrene and cyclohexane) was studied to evaluate the effect of dispersion quality (i.e., size and stability) on the encapsulation efficiencies of subsequent miniemulsion polymerizations. Through screening studies of various block copolymers, OLOA 370 (polybutene–succinimide pentamine) was chosen as the stabilizer for detailed dispersion studies on both types of TiO2 particles. As a result of strong interactions between the amine end group of the OLOA 370 stabilizer and the hydroxyl groups on the surface of the hydrophilic TiO2 particles, a good dispersion stability and small particle size (Dv = 39–45 nm) was obtained using 1.0 wt % stabilizer and 20 min of sonification. The dispersions of the hydrophobic TiO2 particles resulted in a larger average particle size (Dv = 60 nm) and poorer stability.