CONTROL OF CORE SHELL LATEX MORPHOLOGY

Composite latex particles with core-and-shell structures made via staged emulsion polymerization have gained interest in recent years. Control of particle structures has been a challenge, particularly when the desired core polymer is more hydrophillic than the shell polymer. The structure of a PMMA/PS system can be controlled by altering the thermodynamic and kinetic variables. These variables include particle surface polarity, stage ratio, core particle size, the mode of monomer addition, and the degree of crosslinking.