Reinforcing latex coatings with reactive latex particles

Abstract A new approach to the crosslinking and filling synthetic latex coatings has been developed. Peroxidized monodisperse polystyrene latex particles have been used as a crosslinker and, simultaneously, as a filler of polymer coatings based on acrylic and styrene-butadiene latexes. The synthesis of reactive (peroxidized) latex particles was carried out using the emulsion polymerization of styrene in the presence of the polymer inisurf, the initiator-surfactant, a copolymer of a peroxide monomer, N-[( tert -butylperoxy)methyl]acrylamide with maleic anhydride. The reactive latex particles were employed to crosslink polymer coatings from synthetic acrylic and styrene-butadiene latexes. The hardness and solvent resistance of the coatings based on both latexes increase with an increasing amount of the reactive latex filler in the formulation. The crosslinked coatings, based on styrene-butadiene exhibited better characteristics in terms of hardness and solvent stability. The properties of latex-crosslinked coatings depend on reaction temperature and the amount of the crosslinker, peroxidized reactive polystyrene latex particles.