@article{7bd7cb245fbc4d47adb5abc8268fcca2,
title = "Closing the 1-5 mu m size gap: Temperature-programmed, fed-batch synthesis of mu m-sized microgels",
abstract = "Microgels below 1 mu m and above 20 mu m are readily accessible; however, obtaining them in size 1-10 mu m still remains a challenge. We present a surfactant-free precipitation polymerization approach, combining temperature-ramp (T-ramp) and fed-batch, generating 1-5 mu m in diameter poly(N-Vinylcaprolactam) (pVCL) microgels. Confocal microscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS) confirm that the size of temperature-responsive pVCL microgels can be adjusted by the feeding ratio. The experimentally determined microgel sizes match the model-based predictions well. The developed synthesis method achieves high monomer conversions and provides high microgel yields as determined by Raman spectroscopy.",
keywords = "Micron-sized microgels, Fed-batch synthesis, Temperature-ramp, Poly(N-Vinylcaprolactam), PRECIPITATION POLYMERIZATION, POLY(N-VINYLCAPROLACTAM), PARTICLES, NANOGELS, DELIVERY",
author = "Ksiazkiewicz, {Agnieszka Natalia} and Luise Bering and Falco Jung and Wolter, {Nadja Anna} and Joern Viell and Alexander Mitsos and Andrij Pich",
note = "Funding Information: This work was performed as a part of project B4 and G2 of the CRC 85 “Functional Microgels and Microgel Systems” funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). STEM imaging was carried out at the Center for Chemical Polymer Technology (CPT) which was supported by the EU and the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (EFRE 30 00 883 02). Agnieszka Ksiazkiewicz, with help of Nadja Wolter, have contributed to microgel synthesis and characterization, Luise Bering to Raman spectroscopy measurements and data evaluation, whereas Falco Jung performed modelling of microgel diameters. The authors would like to thank Adel Mhamdi, Kai Leonhard, Michael Kather, Leif Kr{\"o}ger and Franca Janssen for helpful discussions. We are grateful to Candeniz Gercek for help with experiments and Sarah Ford for proofreading. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Elsevier B.V.",
year = "2020",
month = jan,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1016/j.cej.2019.122293",
language = "English",
volume = "379",
journal = "Chemical Engineering Journal",
issn = "1385-8947",
publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",
}