Kinetic Investigation of Sub‐50 nm Polystyrene Seed Latex Synthesis Using Dual Surfactant Blends

ABSTRACT Polystyrene seed latexes provide a versatile platform for controlled particle nucleation and narrow size distributions in emulsion polymerization. In our earlier work, we established a dual‐surfactant system (sulfosuccinate/disulfonate) that reproducibly yielded stable, monodisperse PS nanoparticles (~25–30 nm, PDI = < 3%). While that study clarified how formulation influenced the final particle size and colloidal stability, it did not address how initiator concentration and polymerization temperature govern the rate of particle growth and conversion. The goal of this work is therefore to systematically quantify the impact of these parameters on reaction kinetics, particle size evolution, and monomer conversion efficiency based on the dual surfactant blend emulsion polymerization. Our results show that higher initiator concentrations and elevated temperatures accelerate conversion and lead to smaller particle sizes, with polydispersity decreasing under optimized conditions. This study explicitly links formulation factors to both the trends and rates of particle evolution, complementing prior findings and providing greater control in emulsion polymerizations that rely on seeded latexes.