Preparation and characterization of natural rosin stabilized nanoparticles via miniemulsion polymerization and their pressure-sensitive adhesive applications

A series of rosin stabilized nanoparticles were prepared by miniemulsion polymerization. The hydrophobicity of dehydroabietic acid (DA) from rosin or from DA derived acrylic monomer (AEDA) was employed to stabilize the monomer miniemulsions. Then miniemulsion polymerizations of these monomer miniemulsions were performed separately and achieved the rosin stabilized nanoparticles with a near-monodisperse spherical morphology, respectively. This approach can effectively incorporate DA or AEDA into polyacrylate miniemulsinn. Herein, AEDA played a role as both costabilizer and reactant in miniemulsion polymerization, and high molecular weight AEDA-MMA copolymers were achieved. The introduction of rosin's moiety also could afford its copolymers with an improved thermal stability and mechanical property. Unlike conventional usage of rosin derivatives as a tackifying resin in pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSA), AEDA served as a hard component and improved the holding power of PSA, which opens a new platform for the using of rosin.