Microencapsulation of Styrene/Epoxydiacrylate via In Situ Polymerization of Melamine-Formaldehyde
Microcapsules containing the mixture of styrene and epoxydiacrylate (St/E51-AA) for use in self-healing thermoplastic composites were synthesized by in-situ polymerization using melamine-formaldehyde (MF) as shell materials. The microcapsules were prepared in two consecutive steps, emulsification of St/E51-AA in water and then, encapsulation. The chemical structure of microcapsule was identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR), respectively. Morphology and shell wall thickness of microcapsule were observed using scanning electron microscope (SEM). The effect of dispersion rates, through a limited range, was carefully examined on the particle size and core content of microcapsules. It was found that styrene/ epoxydiacrylate-loaded microcapsules were successfully prepared through the proposed technical route, and their mean diameters fell in the range of 36~110 μm. Both core content and microcapsule size can be adjusted by selecting different dispersion rates. The highest loading of St/E51-AA in the resultant microcapsules can be about 85%. In terms of thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), thermal behavior and storage stability of the capsules were studied.