A new method to make poly acrylate foam shells

A triple-orifice droplet generator was designed and developed for the size-controllable continuous fabrication of hollow foam micro-shells. Solutions of an internal water phase, an oil phase (trimethylpropane triacrylate monomer, dibutyl phthalate solvent, and benzoin ethyl ether initiator), and an external water phase were used to prepare micro-shells whose diameters are between 1.5 mm and 4.0 mm successfully. Characterization of the foam shells was carried out using a scanning electron microscope and X-ray radiography. The results show that cell diameters of the shells are not above 1 μm. The refractive index of the polymer framework is around 1.50. Furthurmore, the shells fabricated through the triple-orifice droplet generator have a high survival probability of 93% and exhibit narrow