This work reports the preparation and characterization of poly(styrene-acrylic acid) (St/AA) submicrocapsules by using the miniemulsion copolymerization method. AA was introduced to miniemulsion polymerization of St to increase the zeta potential and the resulting electrostatic stability of St/AA submicrocapsules. Phytoncide oil was adopted as the core model material. Miniemulsion copolymerization of St and AA was conducted at a fixed monomer concentration (0.172 mol) with a varying monomer feed ratio [AA]/[St] (0.2, 0.25, 0.33, 0.5, and 1.0). Concentrations of initiator (azobisisobutyronitrile; 1.0 × 10-3, 2.0 × 10-3, 3.0 × 10-3, and 4.0 × 10-3 mol/mol of monomer) and surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate; 0.6 × 10-3, 1.0 × 10-3, and 1.4 × 10-3 mol) were also controlled to optimize the miniemulsion copolymerization of St and AA. Dynamic light scattering and microscopic analyses confirmed the optimum condition of miniemulsion copolymerization of St and AA. Long-term colloidal stability of aqueous St/AA submicrocapsule suspension was evaluated by using TurbiscanTM Lab. In this work, the optimum condition for miniemulsion copolymerization of St and AA was determined ([AA]/[St] = 0.33; [SDS] = 1.0 × 10-3 mol; [AIBN] = 2.0 × 10-3 mol/mol of monomer). St/AA submicrocapsules prepared at the optimum condition (392.6 nm and -55.2 mV of mean particle size and zeta potential, respectively) showed almost no variations in backscattering intensity (stable colloids without aggregation).
Keywords: acrylic acid; miniemulsion copolymerization; styrene; submicrocapsule; zeta potential.