THE SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF MMA/BA/AA/HEMA COPOLYMER SOAPLESS EMULSION

Seed copolymerization cooperated with step temperature control has beensuccessfully applied to achieve stable soapless acrylate emulsion containing acrylic acid (AA)and β-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) at high solid contents (45%). The characterization onthe specific properties of the soapless emulsion with focus on latex particle morphology, water-resistance, storage stability at ambient or freezing temperature has been carried out. The resultsindicate that the copolymerization of AA and HEMA can improve the water resistance andstorage stability of the copolymer remarkably. Besides, the influence of certain chemicaladditives on the emulsion properties was also studied.