EFFECTS OF POLYMER COATING ON THE STRUCTURE OF CORE–SHELL PARTICLES AND MECHANICAL PERFORMANCE OF COMPRESSED BULK MATERIALS

In this study, we synthesized five types of core–shell particles using five distinct polymer coatings (EVA, F2603, BR9000, paraffin, and PMMA) through the solvent evaporation method using sodium sulfate (Na 2 SO 4 ) as the core material. Then, we characterized the morphology, particle size distribution, crystalline phase, and thermal decomposition performance of the five samples. The F2603 and paraffin wax-coated particles exhibit a smooth surface, while the EVA and BR9000-coated particles are easily agglomerated. The particle size of the four types of particles decreased after coating (except for F2603), and the sizes of PMMA and paraffin-coated particles were reduced to 236 [Formula: see text]m and 103 [Formula: see text]m, which is smaller than the pure Na 2 SO 4 particle. The peak temperature of the coated particles increased in the thermal analyses, which indicated that the coated polymer improved the thermal stability of the Na 2 SO 4 . Meanwhile, the EVA-coated particle exhibits the highest peak temperature and the best thermal stability. Finally, we conducted hot-press molding and obtained five bulk materials from the coated particles. The Brazilian tensile strength and uniaxial compressive strength of the compressed bulks were obtained. We observed that PMMA-coated particles were easily compressed during the molding process, and the coated samples also had the highest strengths among the five samples. Additionally, the EVA-coated sample demonstrates the largest recovery height after 12[Formula: see text]h. The new findings will guide the selection of coated materials for core–shell particles.