Preparation of poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) nanoparticles by emulsion polymerization and PVK hollow particles

PVK nanoparticles were obtained by oil-in-water emulsion polymerization of N-vinylcarbazole (VCz). VCz is a white crystalline material with a melting point of 65 °C, which is an unsuitable monomer for conventional emulsion polymerization because of its crystallinity. However, we could successfully synthesize PVK nanoparticles by emulsion polymerization from VCz solution with organic solvent. And then, we found that the concentration of VCz influenced the particle size. PVK hollow particles were also obtained by etching of PMMA core from PMMA/PVK core–shell particles, and the size of a hollow particle was enlarged by two times compared with a core–shell particle due to the swelling process. PVK nanoparticles were probed by UV–vis absorption and fluorescence spectrometers, and hollow particles were characterized by FT-IR spectra. Both of them were confirmed by TEM, and the light-scattering instrument.