Reactive surfactant in the emulsion copolymerization of methyl methacrylate and octyl acrylate

The emulsion copolymerization of methyl methacrylate and octyl acrylate was studied using a reactive surfactant ammonium sulfate allyloxy nonylphenoxy poly(ethyleneoxy) (10) ether (DNS-86), and a conventional surfactant sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS) with a similar structure as a comparison sample. A series of latex samples have been prepared with two kinds of surfactants, and their properties have been characterized and compared. H-1-NMR proves that the reactive surfactant has been incorporated into the resulting copolymers. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) proves that the reactive surfactant DNS-86 migrate to the surface of the latex film to a much less degree than the conventional surfactant DBS. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrates that there are some differences in the particle morphologies. The stability and water-resistance of the latex films prepared by reactive surfactant DNS-86 are better than those prepared by the conventional surfactant DBS.