Rheology of Poly(vinyl chloride) Plastisol: Effect of a Particular Nonionic Cosurfactant

The rheology of poly(vinyl chloride) plastisols is affected by many aspects of the formulations, such as type and concentration of each component, temperature and, perhaps most important, the polymer properties. Taking into consideration the surfactants normally present during the polymerization reaction, in this work, a different approach was followed. Besides the usual polymerization surfactants, a particular ester-type emulsifier was also added in a postpolymerization stage. The results show a particle aggregation effect in the initial aqueous dispersion (latex) that promotes a significant decrease in the viscosity level, aging profile, and different viscoelastic properties of the latter plastisols. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 115: 599-607, 2010