Preparation method of intelligent microcapsule encapsulated with surfactant

• Main Authors: YU YALAN, MOU CHUANLIN
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 25.02.2015
• Subjects: ADHESIVES; CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOIDCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; DYES; MATERIALS FOR MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS, NOT PROVIDED FORELSEWHERE; METALLURGY; MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS; MISCELLANEOUS COMPOSITIONS; NATURAL RESINS; PAINTS; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL; POLISHES; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS; TRANSPORTING

An intelligent microcapsule encapsulated with a surfactant is composed of a shell layer and a liquid core wrapped in the shell layer, wherein the shell layer is formed by crosslinking temperature-sensitive type high-molecular poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), and the liquid core is encapsulated with the surfactant with a certain concentration. When an environment temperature rises above a volume phase transition temperature of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), the volume of the microcapsule sharply contracts so as to release the liquid core containing the surfactant, and the surfactant can significantly reduce the oil/water interfacial tension. Preparation of the microcapsule comprises the steps: (1) building a glass capillary microfluidic device; (2) preparing an internal oil-phase fluid, an intermediate water-phase fluid and an external oil-phase fluid; (3) respectively injecting the three fluids into an injection pipe, a transition pipe and a collecting pipe of the microfluidic device, forming a highly-monodisperse oil/water/oil double emulsion, then introducing the highly-monodisperse oil/water/oil double emulsion into a reaction vessel, and carrying out a radical polymerization reaction under ultraviolet light irradiation; (4) separating and purifying a microcapsule; and (5) encapsulating with the surfactant.