| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/R19229/01 |
| Title: |
Surface-Initiated Polymerisation of Hydrophilic Monomers From Colloidal Substrates Using Aqueous Atrp |
| Principal Investigator: |
Armes, Professor SP |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Department: |
Chemistry |
| Organisation: |
University of Sussex |
| Scheme: |
ROPA |
| Starts: |
20 June 2001 |
Ends: |
19 June 2003 |
Value (£): |
110,741
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
Materials Synthesis & Growth |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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A post-doctoral worker is requested for two years to examine the use of aqueous A TRP in the context of surface-initiated polymerisation from colloidal substrates, e.g. silica. A wide range of hydrophilic methacrylate and styrenic monomers will be evaluated, including non-ionics, cationics, anionics and betaines. Two approaches will be explored for the attachment of A TRP initiators to the surface of silica particles: (1) siloxane chemistry and (2) the electrostatic adsorption of pre-formed, low molecular weight cationic macro-initiators. One of the siloxanes will be designed to be cleavable under mild conditions to enable the molecular weight distributions of the grafted polymers to be assessed by GPC. If successful, the cationic macro-initiator route is expected to be particularly attractive and possibly more general in scope. A wide range of techniques (almost all of which are available in-house) will be used to assess the efficacy of aqueous A TRP for the production of well-defined, grafted polymer chains and also to characterise the final polymer-silica particles in terms of their particle size, polymer content, surface concentration and coverage, and ease of (re)dispersion in various solvents. These novel organic-inorganic hybrid particles are expected to be interesting new colloidal systems for testing theories of steric stabilisation since, depending on the nature of the grafted hydrophilic polymer chains, the colloidal stability of the silica particles will be responsive to external stimuli such as solution temperature and pH. Cross-linking of concentrated dispersions to give three-dimensional monoliths will also be explored.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.sussex.ac.uk |