Monika Goikoetxea

Effect of film thickness and particle size on cracking stresses in drying latex films.

The stress at which latex films crack during drying was investigated using beam bending. Two systems were investigated: (i) poly(methyl methacrylate/butyl acrylate) particles cast as thin films to examine the effect of film thickness on cracking film stress and (ii) polystyrene particles dried as drops to investigate the effect of particle size. Results indicated an inverse relationship between film thickness and film stress, whilst film stress was shown to be independent of the original particle size. These outcomes were in good agreement with Tirumkudulu and Russels theoretical analysis [M.S. Tirumkudulu and W.B. Russel, Langmuir 21 (2005) 4938], albeit the measured stress values were almost twice the theoretical estimation.

Evolving Stresses in Latex Films as a Function of Temperature

Latex films were dried on a flexible substrate, and the substrate deflection was monitored over time to give an averaged film stress-evolution profile. Films were dried at various temperatures below and above the minimum film-formation temperature of the latex dispersion. The effect of polymer rheology, which is a temperature-dependent parameter, on film formation, was investigated. The reliability of the Stoney model in predicting film stress from substrate curvature was also examined and compared to the Euler-Bernoulli model. It was shown that the linearized Stoney model was unsuitable for the larger measured stresses.

Cross-Linked Network Development in Compatibilized Alkyd/Acrylic Hybrid Latex Films for the Creation of Hard Coatings

Hybrids made from an alkyd resin and an acrylic copolymer can potentially combine the desired properties of each component. Alkyd/acrylic hybrid latex particles were synthesized via miniemulsion polymerization and used to create films at room temperature. Comparisons of the alkyd auto-oxidative cross-linking rates and the associated network development are made between two alkyd resins (with differing levels of hydrophilicity as measured by their acid numbers). The effects of increasing the compatibilization between the alkyd and the acrylic phase via functionalization with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) are investigated. Magnetic resonance profiling and microindentation measurements reveal that film hardening occurs much faster in a GMA-functionalized alkyd hybrid than in the standard hybrid. The films hardness increases by a factor of 4 over a 5-day period. The rate of cross-linking is significantly slower in nonfunctionalized alkyd hybrid films and when the more hydrophilic alkyd resin is used. Tensile deformation of the hybrid latex films reveals the effects of GMA functionalization and drier concentration in creating a denser cross-linked network. Modeling of the tensile deformation behavior of the hybrid films used a combination of the upper convected Maxwell model (to describe the viscoelastic component) and the Gent model (to describe the elastic component). The modeling provides a correlation between the cross-linked network formation and the resulting mechanical properties.

Latex imaging by Environmental STEM: Application to the study of the surfactant outcome in hybrid alkyd/acrylate systems

Among other uses, latexes are a successful alternative to solvent-borne binders for coatings. Efforts are made to produce hybrid nanostructured latexes containing an acrylic phase and an alkyd phase. However, after the film-forming process, the surfactant used to stabilize these latexes remains in the film, and its location can have a drastic effect on the application properties. Among the processing parameters, the alkyd hydrophobicity can strongly influence this location. This article aims at the imaging of these surfactant molecules in two hybrid latexes with different hydrophobicity level of the alkyd resin. A first part of this paper is dedicated to the understanding of the contrast provided by the surfactant in environmental STEM imaging of latexes. Then, the influence of surfactant-polymer affinity on the surfactant location after film-forming of those hybrid alkyd/acrylate latexes is studied by this technique. It is shown that in the hybrid latex with an alkyd shell (obtained with the most hydrophilic resin), the surfactant molecules tend to remain buried in the alkyd phase. Conversely, in the hybrid latex with an acrylate shell (in the case of the most hydrophobic resin), the surfactant molecules tend to gather into islands like in pure acrylate latex films.