The encapsulation of water soluble solids, such as salts, in solvent resistant and mechanically robust polymers is a task fraught with difficulties. Conventional encapsulation techniques are unsuitable either due to the limited chemical stability of the encapsulates or the problems imposed by the water soluble nature of the encapsulates. This article describes a novel encapsulation technique. The method, a variant of conventional interfacial polycondensation, well known through the demonstration called the "Nylon Rope Trick", involves the creation of an interface between two mutually immiscible organic liquids at which the polycondensation reaction between an acid dichloride and a polyfunctional amine takes place to produce a highly solvent resistant coating of a polyamide around the encapsulates which are surrounded by the more polar reactant.
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Citation
Hessbrugge, Bernd J.; Vaidya, Atul M. J. Chem. Educ.1997 74 1322.
Keywords
Organic Chemistry, Polymer Chemistry, and Demonstrations
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