The effect of cosurfactants and the initiator concentration on the polymer to surfactant concentration in nanolatexes

Abstract

The effect of cosurfactant and initiator concentration on the ab initio production of nanolatexes using low surfactant levels was investigated. While the use of cosurfactants (acrylic acid and pentanol) increased the amount of monomer that can be used in styrene-SDS microemulsion formulations to 13 wt %, high surfactant concentrations are still required, resulting in polymer-to-surfactant ratios (Pol/Surf) <1. Latexes with particle size of 30 ± 5 nm were produced upon polymerization of these microemulsions. The Pol/Surf can be significantly increased by increasing the initiator concentration of emulsion polymerization recipes. Particle sizes are comparable with microemulsion latexes, however, less surfactant is required. The reduction in the particle size with higher initiator concentration is attributed to a higher efficiency of particle nucleation and to a higher nucleation rate relative to the rate of monomer transfer. Nanolatexes (particle size < 30 nm) were obtained with 19 wt % solids content and Pol/Surf of 3.6 in ab initio. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012