Self-crosslinking film-forming latexes prepared using sunflower oil-based monomer

Abstract

The bio-based monomer, specifically acrylated methyl ester derived from sunflower oil, was incorporated to formulate polymer latexes for coating applications. The content of the bio-based monomer building units in the copolymer chain structure ranged from 5 to 30 wt. %. The emulsion polymerization of these bio-based monomers showed successful results, characterized by low coagulum levels (below 3%) and high monomer conversion rates (around 95%). The integration of the bio-based derivatives into the polymer latexes was confirmed by infrared spectroscopy. In addition, asymmetric flow fractionation coupled with multi-angle light scattering was used to analyze the molar mass distribution of the synthesized copolymers. The effectiveness of both anionic non-polymerizable and polymerizable emulsifiers was evaluated to determine the stability of the prepared latexes under elevated temperature conditions and their water resistance.