Fabrication of Two Kinds of Polymer Microspheres Stabilized by Modified Titania during Pickering Emulsion Polymerization

Two kinds of PS microspheres with different structures are prepared in one reaction system via Pickering emulsion polymerization. As the stabilizer, titania nanoparticles are modified by oleic acid or sodium oleate and then investigated using aqueous electrophoresis measurements, DLS and oil/water partitioning experiments. The morphology of the resulting polymer microspheres is characterized using TEM and FE-SEM. It is proven that the surface structure of the titania nanoparticles determines the polymerization routes it adopts and affects the morphology of the final polymer microspheres.