Abstract: The microemulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate was studied.The effects of feeding modes on the structure and the properties of the obtained polymer microlatex were investigated by measuring the conversion, the transmittance and the refractive index of the latex, and by measuring the particle size, the molecular weight and the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the polymers.The results show that compared to the batch feeding mode, the semi-continuous feeding mode is more favorable to form a PMMA microlatex with a higher transmittance, a smaller particle size, a higher molecular weight and a higher T_g.And the obtained PMMA microlatex has a 30 %-40 % (mass fraction) polymer content, a 0.03 emulsifier/water weight ratio, a 0.05emulsifier/monomer weight ratio and a 17 nm average particle diameter, which is very important for the industrialization of the microemulsion polymerization technique.

Key words: Microemulsion polymerization, Methyl methacrylate, Feeding mode, Particle size