S-PVC Grain Morphology: A Review

Among the properties required for producing PVC resin of good quality, the particle morphology (size, primary particles, agglomerates, skins, pores, etc.) plays an important role in processing and performance of products. Three main physical transitions are involved in self-structuring the grains of suspension PVC: nucleation, aggregation and growth. All of these processes are affected by many physical transitions and chemical phenomena that are inter-related and many are complex functions of polymerization conditions (i.e., agitation, temperature, stabilizers, etc.). Because of this multiscale complexity, the relationships between suspension polymerization conditions and morphology have yet to be well-understood. In spite of all these difficulties, a literature survey of the available research nevertheless provides a comprehensive and descriptive insight into mechanisms governing PVC particle formation accounting for the effect of the process variables.