- The paper is focused on the formation and redispersion of monodisperse BaSO4 nanoparticles in polyelectrolyte- modified microemulsions. It is shown that a cationic polyelectrolyte of low molar mass, e.g. poly(dially1dimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC), can be incorporated into the individual inverse microemulsion droplets (L2 phase) consisting of heptanol, water, and an amphoteric surfactant with a sulfobetaine head group. These PDADMAC- filled microemulsion droplets can be successfully used as a template phase for the nanoparticle formation. The monodisperse BaSO4 nanoparticles are produced by a simple mixing procedure and can be redispersed after solvent evaporation without a change in particle dimensions. Dynamic and electrophoretical light scattering in combination with sedimentation experiments in the analytical Ultracentrifuge of the redispersed powder show polyelectrolyte-stabilized nanoparticles with diameters of about 6 nm. The polyelectrolyte shows a "size control effect", which can be explained by theThe paper is focused on the formation and redispersion of monodisperse BaSO4 nanoparticles in polyelectrolyte- modified microemulsions. It is shown that a cationic polyelectrolyte of low molar mass, e.g. poly(dially1dimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC), can be incorporated into the individual inverse microemulsion droplets (L2 phase) consisting of heptanol, water, and an amphoteric surfactant with a sulfobetaine head group. These PDADMAC- filled microemulsion droplets can be successfully used as a template phase for the nanoparticle formation. The monodisperse BaSO4 nanoparticles are produced by a simple mixing procedure and can be redispersed after solvent evaporation without a change in particle dimensions. Dynamic and electrophoretical light scattering in combination with sedimentation experiments in the analytical Ultracentrifuge of the redispersed powder show polyelectrolyte-stabilized nanoparticles with diameters of about 6 nm. The polyelectrolyte shows a "size control effect", which can be explained by the polyelectrolyte-surfactant interactions in relation to the polyelectrolyte-nanoparticle interactions during the particle growth, solvent evaporation and redispersion process. However, the approach used here opens away to produce different types of polyelectrolyte-stabilized nanoparticles (including rare metals, semiconductors, carbonates or oxides) of very small dimensions. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved…
