New Ethyl Cellulose/Acrylic Hybrid Latexes and Coatings via Miniemulsion Polymerization

Ethyl cellulose (EC) was incorporated into copolymer latexes via miniemulsion polymerization. The effects of EC viscosity and EC content on droplet size, particle size, and polymerization kinetics were investigated. The higher the EC content and viscosity, the larger the droplet size and the less stable the latex suspension. Small droplets that could be efficiently nucleated were formed for the lower-viscosity EC but the latex still showed limited colloidal stability. This was attributed to some phase-incompatibility between EC and the acrylic polymer. These stability issues were overcome by using an oil-soluble initiator and a crosslinker. The later enabled to physically entrap EC inside the polymer particles, whereas the former allowed in situ grafting of the growing acrylic radicals to the EC backbone decreasing thereby the extent of phase separation. Thermal-mechanical analyses evidenced that the films obtained from the hybrid latexes displayed better properties than the EC-free latex films or the physical blends. This supports the hypothesis of formation of hybrid latexes that synergistically combine the properties of the acrylic matrix and the EC polymer. Interestingly, a significant increase of the elastic modulus was observed between 50 and 90 degrees C. This mechanical reinforcement was tentatively attributed to the formation of a percolating EC-based hybrid phase. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 2329-2339, 2010