Formulation of self-crosslinkable hybrid acrylic/casein latex by tannic acid

The current environmental issues caused by the massive consumption of oil-based materials are boosting the efforts to develop novel eco-friendly and biodegradable materials. In this context, this work presents the preparation of waterborne latexes composed of hybrid casein/acrylate nanoparticles containing tannic acid, a plant-derived phenolic compound, which is proposed as cross linker agent during film formation. In this way, self-crosslinkable formulations containing variable amounts of cross linker were prepared. This proposal allows extending the properties of hybrid casein/acrylate films by improving their water resistance, without degrading their mechanical strength, and providing them excellent UV-blocking properties. These results show that a latex with a high bio-content, as hybrid casein/acrylate one, in combination with a plant-derived phenolic compound as cross linker could pave the way for producing self-crosslinkable formulations with potential to be applied as more eco-friendly films with improved biodegradability.