Model filled polymers. IX. Synthesis of uniformly crosslinked polystyrene microbeads

Monodisperse sized crosslinked polystyrene (PS) beads prepared by reaction of styrene (S) and divinylbenzene (DVB), in batch emulsion copolymerization in the absence of emulsifiers, are not uniformly crosslinked, because DVB is more reactive than S. For copolymerization of 1 to 10 mol % DVB and S, within each crosslinked PS microbead, the crosslink density varies by a factor exceeding two and decreases with increased conversion. A semicontinuous copolymerization, involving incremental additions of DVB, produces uniformly crosslinked PS beads. For both copolymerization techniques, T g correlates well with crosslink density and PS beads are spherical and monodisperse in size.