Fundamentals of chemical incorporation of ionic monomers onto polymer colloids: paving the way for surfactant-free waterborne dispersions

Abstract

In this article, the fundamentals of the chemical incorporation of a pH and temperature insensitive ionic monomer (sodium styrene sulfonate, NaSS) onto polymer particles was investigated in an attempt to go beyond the current technology for production of a waterborne polymer dispersion, which is based on the use of surfactants to stabilize the dispersion. The success of this approach requires the chemical incorporation of NaSS onto the polymer particles and minimizing at the same time the amount of water soluble polymer. It was found that the chemical incorporation of NaSS can be improved by increasing the concentration of the comonomer in the aqueous phase, whereas the functionality of the comonomer did not play any significant role. Strategies to maximize incorporation of NaSS were proposed.