Effect of colloidal stabilizer on the shape of polystyrene/poly(methyl methacrylate) composite particles prepared in aqueous medium by the solvent evaporation method

Effects of the kind and concentration of stabilizers on the nonspherical shape of polystyrene (PS)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composite particles prepared by release of toluene from PS/PMMA/toluene droplets dispersed in stabilizer aqueous solution were examined. In the case of poly(vinyl alcohol), the surfaces of the obtained particles always had a single dimple. In the case of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), the shapes of the composite particles changed from the dimple, via acorn, to spherical with increasing SDS concentration. It was clarified that the dimple and acorn shapes of the PS/PMMA composite particles were caused by contraction of the PS phase after hardening of the PMMA phase in excentered core-shell and hemisphere morphologies, respectively, which were formed by phase separation during toluene evaporation.