Methods for encapsulation of materials and methods for making resinous compositions and articles comprising the same

Abstract

An embodiment of a method of encapsulation of a material comprises dispersing high aspect ratio particles in a monomer and/or a polymer to form a suspension mixture, adding the suspension mixture to an aqueous mixture to form an aqueous reaction mixture, heating and mixing the aqueous reaction mixture to encourage the formation of substantially spherical-shaped beads, quenching the aqueous reaction mixture after the substantially spherical-shaped beads are formed, and collecting the substantially spherical-shaped beads.

1 . A method of encapsulation of a material, comprising: 
 dispersing high aspect ratio particles in a material to form a suspension mixture, wherein the material comprises a monomer and/or a polymer;    adding the suspension mixture to an aqueous mixture to form an aqueous reaction mixture, wherein the aqueous mixture comprises a suspension agent;    heating and mixing the aqueous reaction mixture to encourage the formation of the substantially spherical-shaped beads, wherein most of the substantially spherical-shaped beads encapsulate one or more of the high aspect ratio particles to an extent that the high aspect ratio particle(s) will not become delaminated during processing;    quenching the aqueous reaction mixture after the substantially spherical-shaped beads are formed; and    collecting the substantially spherical-shaped beads.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 sonicating the suspension mixture prior to adding the suspension mixture to the aqueous reaction mixture.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , the method further comprising utilizing gravity sedimentation and/or centrifugation to separate the substantially spherical-shaped beads into various batches.  
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the gravity sedimentation comprises: 
 reslurrying the substantially spherical-shaped beads in a slurry solution to form a separation system having an original volume;    mixing the separation system;    allowing the separation system to stand still to come to equilibrium;    removing a fraction of useable substantially spherical-shaped beads from the separation system;    filtering the fraction of useable substantially spherical-shaped beads that is obtained from the separation system;    washing the filtered fraction of useable substantially spherical-shaped beads to remove any excess slurry solution; and    adding a quantity of water to the remaining substantially spherical-shaped beads and slurry solution in the separation system; and    repeating mixing the separation system, allowing the separation to stand, removing a fraction of useable substantially spherical-shaped beads, filtering the fraction, washing the filtered fraction, and adding a quantity of deionized water to the remaining substantially spherical-shaped beads, as necessary until all the substantially spherical-shaped beads have been removed from the separation system.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising drying the substantially spherical-shaped beads.  
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pigment further comprises at least one member selected from the group consisting of: a colorant, Solvent Blue 35, Solvent Blue 36, Disperse violet 26, Solvent Green 3, Anaplast Orange LFP, Morplas Red 36, and Perylene Red.  
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the pigment is selected from the group consisting of: Solvent Blue 35 and Solvent Blue 36.  
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the high aspect ratio particles comprise at least one of: aluminum, gold, silver, copper, nickel, titanium, stainless steel, nickel sulfide, cobalt sulfide, manganese sulfide, metal oxides, white mica, black mica, synthetic mica, mica coated with titanium dioxide, metal-coated glass flakes, or colorants.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the suspension mixture comprises at least one of: styrene, methyl methacrylate, styrene acrylonitrile, divinylbenzene, or modified bisphenol A.  
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substantially spherical-shaped beads have an average diameter of about 10 μm to about 300 μm.  
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the material comprises a polymer with structural units derived from styrene.  
     
     
         12 . A resinous composition comprising pigment prepared by the method of  claim 1 .  
     
     
         13 . A method of preparing a resinous composition comprising an encapsulated material, comprising: 
 dispersing high aspect ratio particles in a material to form a suspension mixture, wherein the material comprises a monomer and/or a polymer;    adding the suspension mixture to an aqueous mixture to form an aqueous reaction mixture, wherein the aqueous mixture comprises a suspension agent;    heating and mixing the aqueous reaction mixture to encourage the formation of the substantially spherical-shaped encapsulant beads;    quenching the aqueous reaction mixture after the encapsulant beads are formed;    collecting the encapsulant beads; and    dispersing the encapsulant beads in a matrix to form the resinous composition.    
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising forming an article from the resinous composition wherein most of the high aspect ratio particles remain encapsulated during the forming of the article.  
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the matrix comprises an acrylonitrile-styrene-butadiene material, and wherein the material comprises a polymer with structural units derived from styrene.  
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the matrix comprises polycarbonate.  
     
     
         17 . A method for forming an article comprising molding the resinous composition of  claim 13.