The effects of additives on suspensionpolymerization of styrene and itsoptimizations

Nowadays, the incorporation of several novel additives such as colorants, flame retardants, and graphite into polystyrene is studied to tune its fire resistance, improve its cell structure, optimize its insulation properties, and give it an aesthetic look. However, there are not many studies about the stabilization of suspension polymerization in the presence of different additives, which may alter different features of the reaction, such as its viscosity, its ionic strength, its reaction rate, etc. The driving force of this study is to understand and optimize the reaction and the reaction conditions of incorporating different additives into polystyrene beads via suspension polymerization technique and free radical polymerization in the presence of graphite, colorant and flame retardants. The impact of various additives on the polymerization was systematically investigated, focusing on parameters such as suspension stability, Mw, and Tg. It was observed that the incorporation of different additives caused different viscosity behaviors. The adverse effects of incorporation of different additives were overcome by the addition of polymeric suspension stabilizers and anionic surfactants.