UK Polymer Colloids Forum

Professor Brian W. Brooks

Emeritus Professor of Chemical Engineering

Department of Chemical Engineering
Loughborough University
Loughborough
Leicestershire
LE11 3TU
United Kingdom

Tel: +44(0)1509 222510
Fax: +44(0)1509 223923
e-mail: B.W.Brooks@Lboro.ac.uk

Polymer Colloids Research Interests and Expertise

Semi-batch emulsion copolymerisation.

• Particle nucleation in copolymerisation.
• Reactor feed policies and reactor performance.
• Particle size distributions.

Production of latexes via mini-emulsion polymerisation.

• Relationship between homogenizer energy dissipation and drop size.
• Mechanism of drop formation and the effect of viscosity.
• Rate of polymerisation inside viscous drops.
• Role of surfactants in homogenization and drop stability.
• Structure of composite polymer particles when a second polymer is formed.

Inverse microsuspension polymerisation.

• Relationship between drop mixing rates and polymerisation rates.
• Mass transfer of reaction components during polymerisation.
• Effects of stabilizer concentration on polymerisation rate.

Emulsification by phase inversion.

• Mechanisms of phase inversion and the formation of multiple emulsions.
• Production of polymer colloids.
• Formation and structure of colloidal polymer blends.
• Developing quantitative models for surfactant behaviour.

Suspension polymerisaton

• Drop breakage and coalescence rates.
• Effects of stabilizer type on drop mixing and polymerisation rates.
• Control of particle size distribution.
• Polymer precipitation within drops.

 

Facilities Available

Small-scale polymerisation reactors	Transmission electron microscopy
Stereo-scan electron microscopy	Freeze-fracture facilities
Coulter counters	Photon correlation spectroscopy
Drop visualization equipment	High-pressure orifice homogenisers
Gas-liquid chromatography	Liquid-phase chromatography