Highly Filled Polystyrene/Laponite Hybrid Nanoparticles Prepared Using the Ad-miniemulsion Polymerisation Technique

The preparation of highly filled polystyrene/Laponite (PS/Lap) hybrid nanoparticles by the ad-miniemulsion polymerisation technique, using conventional free-radical polymerisation, is described. Laponite (Lap) is first modified with a polymerisable cationic surfactant. Then, using a second surfactant dispersions are prepared under sonication. A stable hybrid miniemulsion is obtained after mixing and co-sonicating both miniemulsions. The polymerisation is conducted using an oil-soluble initiator to obtain hybrid nanoparticles. PS/Lap hybrid nanoparticles are effectively prepared with clay contents as high as 50 wt%. TEM reveals that the highly filled hybrid latexes (=30 wt%) exhibit encapsulated morphology with homogeneously distributed clay platelets.