(35a) Consecutive Polymerization Reactions Conducted in Continuous Microfluidic Reactors

Recently, synthesis of polymer particles in continuous microfluidic reactors allowed excellent control over microbead size, shape and morphology. Precise control of polymerization reactions in time and in a specific location of the microfluidic reactor has not been reported, yet.

We report continuous and scalable microfluidic synthesis of hybrid polymer particles, that is based on microfluidic emulsification of a mixture of monomers and highly controlled consecutive polymerization of these monomers. The first polymerization reaction is initiated by UV-irradiation, the second reaction is triggered by applying heat to the monomer droplets. The resulting method produces polymer particles with narrow excellent size distribution and controlled internal structure.