Effect of PVP in dispersion and seeded dispersion polymerizations

The outcome of seeded dispersion polymerizations of n‐butyl acrylate (BA) and styrene (St) in terms of the success of growing the seed particles without nucleating new particles or generating coagulum was found to be dependent on the seed type (poly[n‐butyl acrylate] [ PBA] or polystyrene [PSt]), the second‐stage monomer (BA or St), and the type of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) stabilizer (PVP K30 or PVP K90). All seeds were first cleaned of excess stabilizer by medium replacement before the seeded polymerizations. In general, successful particle growth was achieved when the second‐stage polymerization employed PVP K30 (1 wt%) as the stabilizer. In contrast, nearly all reactions employing PVP K90 (1 wt%) as the second‐stage stabilizer resulted in the nucleation of a second crop of particles. These phenomena were further investigated by carrying out dispersion polymerizations using the supernatant obtained by separating the seeds from the second‐stage media (containing monomer). The results paralleled those in the seeding studies and were explained by the presence of small amounts of grafted PVP created in situ during the preparation of the seeds. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 2721–2732, 2002     

Seeding as a means of controlling particle size in dispersion polymerization

Two distinctively different seeded dispersion polymerization processes employing micron and submicron size seed particles, respectively, have been used to gain a better mechanistic understanding of the dispersion polymerization process. Using monodisperse micron-size PMMA particles as seed, it was found that when low monomer/polymer ratios (M/P < 2.50) were used in methyl methacrylate (MMA) seeded dispersion polymerizations, particle growth dominates and the number of particles remains unchanged (i.e., narrow distributions are preserved). However, when higher M/P ratios (>2.50) were applied, bimodal or trimodal particle size distributions were produced, which is considered to result from the competition between particle growth and secondary nucleation. When small amounts of submicron seeds were used with the initial intention of gaining a better understanding of the nucleation process, it was surprisingly found that the final number of micron size particles was nearly the same as the initial number of submicron seed particles over a relatively wide range of reaction conditions, including seed, initiator, stabilizer, and monomer concentrations, and the medium composition. These results indicate that within certain limits seeded dispersion polymerization can be a more robust means of controlling particle size than ab initio dispersion polymerization in terms of reproducibly producing a target particle size. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

Dispersion polymerization of n‐butyl acrylate

The dispersion polymerization of n‐butyl acrylate (BA) was investigated using alcohol/water mixtures as the dispersion medium, 4,4′ ‐azobis‐(4‐cyanopentanoic acid) as the initiator, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as the stabilizer. The effects of polymerization parameters, such as the alcohol/water ratio in the medium and the type and concentration of the polymeric stabilizer, on the resulting particle size and size distribution were studied. The final particle size and the stability of the dispersion system were found to be greatly influenced by the type of alcohol used in the mixture; that is, methanol or ethanol, even though the apparent solubility parameters are almost the same for the two types of mixtures. Poly(butyl acrylate) particles with controlled size and size distribution (monodisperse), and gel content were successfully prepared in a 90/10 methanol/water medium. It was found that the particle size decreased with increasing initiator concentration. This is the opposite of what was previously reported in the dispersion polymerizations of styrene and methyl methacrylate. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 2692–2709, 2002     

Dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate: Effect of stabilizer concentration

In dispersion polymerizations of methyl methacrylate (MMA), little difference was found in the polymerization kinetics with varying stabilizer (PVP K‐30) concentration, indicating that in contrast to emulsion polymerization, the kinetics of these dispersion polymerizations are independent of the number of particles. Comparing MMA precipitation and dispersion polymerizations revealed that nuclei formation in the latter results from precipitation polymerization occurring in the continuous phase, which can contribute significantly to the kinetics, and especially to the molecular weight distributions. No change was found in the molecular weight distribution of the PVP during a dispersion polymerization, nor was there any measurable difference between using fresh and recycled stabilizer. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Tracking the fate of seed particles in dispersion polymerization: Preparation and application of fluorescent polymer particles

The mechanism of seeded dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was investigated by employing submicron fluorescent polymer particles as seed. These poly(methyl methacrylate) latex particles, containing fluorescent material, were synthesized by a two‐step miniemulsion polymerization process and then applied in the seeded dispersion polymerization of MMA. The seed particles were located by tracking the fluorescent signal in the micron‐size final particles. The analysis of the final particles showed that most of them contained more than two seed particles. On average, there were 3.7 seed particles in each final particle as obtained under the given conditions of the seeded dispersion polymerization. The location of the seed within the particles being well‐separated from each other was considered to indicate that the aggregation of the particles did not occur immediately, but took place after some particle growth had first taken place. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Influence of seed polymer molecular weight on polymerization kinetics and particle morphology of structured styrene–butadiene latexes

Heterogeneous film‐forming latexes were prepared using two‐stage, seeded emulsion polymerization. The polymerization was performed in a calorimetric reactor with a control unit that monitored the reaction rate and controlled the charging rate of the monomers. Three types of styrene seed latexes were prepared at 70°C. The first was an unmodified polystyrene (PS) latex. The second had the molecular weight lowered by the use of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) as a chain‐transfer agent, added at the start of the polymerization. For the third one, divinylbenzene (DVB) was used as a comonomer. DVB was added under starved conditions near the end of the polymerization to achieve crosslinked particle shells and to introduce double bonds as possible grafting sites. The second polymerization step was performed at 80°C as a batch operation in a 200‐mL calorimeter reactor. The second‐stage polymer was poly(styrene‐co‐butadiene‐co‐methacrylic acid) (S/B/MAA). A fixed S/B ratio was used together with varying small amounts of MAA. Particle morphology and particle‐size distributions were examined after the second stage using TEM after staining with osmium tetroxide. The particle morphology was found to depend on both the seed composition and the amount of MAA used in the second stage. Molecular weight and crosslinking of the DVB‐containing seed influenced the internal particle viscosity, which gave differences in the polymerization rate and the particle morphology. Crosslinking of the second‐stage polymer decreased the monomer concentration in the particles, which could be detected as a change in the slope the pressure/conversion curve. This phenomenon was used to indicate the critical conversion for crosslinking of the second‐stage polymer. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 297–311, 2000     

Study on synthesis and morphology control of poly(4‐vinylpyridine‐co‐butyl acrylate)/poly(styrene‐co‐butyl acrylate) composite microspheres

Monodispersed crosslinked cationic poly(4‐vinylpyridine‐co‐butyl acrylate) [P(4VP‐BA)] seed latexes were prepared by soapless emulsion polymerization, using 2,2′‐azobismethyl(propionamidine)dihydrochloride (V₅₀) as an initiator and divinylbenzene (DVB) or ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a crosslinker. The optimum condition to obtain monodispersed stable latex was investigated. It was found that the colloidal stability of the P4VP latex can be improved by adding an adequate amount of BA (BA/4VP = 1/4, w/w), and adopting a semicontinuous monomer feed mode. Subsequently, poly(4‐vinylpyridine‐co‐butyl acrylate)/Poly(styrene‐co‐butyl acrylate) [P(4VP‐BA)/P(ST‐BA)] composite microspheres were synthesized by seeded polymerization, using the above latex as a seed and a mixture of ST and BA as the second‐stage monomers. The effects of the type of crosslinker, the degree of crosslinking, and the initiators (AIBN and V₅₀) on the morphology of final composite particles are discussed in detail. It was found that P(4VP‐BA)/P(ST‐BA) composite microspheres were always surrounded by a PST‐rich shell when V₅₀ was used as initiator, while sandwich‐like or popcorn‐like composite particles were produced when AIBN was employed. This is because the polarity of the polymer chains with AIBN fragments is lower than for the polymer with V₅₀ fragments, hence leading to higher interfacial tension between the second‐stage PST‐rich polymer and the aqueous phase, and between PST‐rich polymer and P4VP‐rich seed polymer. As a result, the seed cannot be engulfed by the PST‐rich polymer. Furthermore, the decrease of T_g of the second‐stage polymer promoted phase separation between the seeds and the PST‐rich polymer: sandwich‐like particles formed more preferably than popcorn‐like particles. It is important knowledge that various morphologies different from PST‐rich core/P4VP‐rich shell morphology, can be obtained only by changing the initiator, considering P4VP is much more hydrophilic than PST. The zeta potential of composite particles initiated by AIBN in seeded polymerization shifted from a positive to a negative charge. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 1190–1203, 2002     

Morphology of micron‐sized,monodisperse, nonspherical polystyrene/poly(n‐butyl methacrylate) composite particles produced by seeded dispersion polymerization

Nonspherical polystyrene (PS)/poly(n‐butyl methacrylate) (PBMA) composite particles with uneven surfaces were produced by seeded dispersion polymerization of BMA with 1.65‐μm, monodisperse, spherical PS seed particles. The composite particles consisted of a PS core and an incomplete PBMA shell. The formation mechanism of such nonspherical particles was discussed. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 2013–2021, 2002     

Morphology of poly(butyl acrylate)/poly(styrene‐co‐methyl methacrylate) latex prepared by starved emulsion polymerization: II. Development of particle morphology

Heterogeneous latexes were prepared by a two‐stage seeded emulsion polymerization process under monomer starved conditions at 80 °C using potassium persulfate as the initiator and sodium dodecyl sulfate as the emulsifier. Poly(butyl acrylate) latexes were used as seeds. The second‐stage polymer was poly(styrene‐co‐methyl methacrylate). By varying the amount of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in the second‐stage copolymer, the polarity of the copolymer phase could be controlled. It was found that the latex particles displayed different morphologies depending on the monomer ratio. The amount of MMA had a significant effect on the evolution of morphology. The morphologies were observed by transmission electron microscopy. In addition, the evolution of the particle morphology was predicted by the mathmatical model for cluster migration. The model gave the same trends as the experimental results. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Kinetic investigations of acrylic–polyurethane composite latex

The effect of various reaction parameters on the rate of polymerization, R_p, and on the particle size and morphology of aqueous acrylic–polyurethane hybrid dispersions, prepared by semibatch emulsion polymerization, was investigated. The particles of polyurethane dispersion were used as seeds during the polymerization of acrylic component: methyl methacrylate (MMA), butyl acrylate (BA), and a mixture of MMA and BA with the ratio of 1:1. These emulsions were found to form structured polymer particles in aqueous media using scanning electron microscopy. The kinetics of the emulsion polymerization was studied on the basis of Wessling's model. The influence of emulsifier and initiator concentrations, including the monomer feed rates, R_m, on the rates of polymerization and on the properties of the resulting dispersions were studied. The number of particles and the particle size were also measured during the polymerization process. The final values were found to be independent of the concentration of the emulsifier, initiator and the monomer feed rate in monomer starved conditions. In the steady‐state conditions, during the seeded semibatch hybrid emulsion polymerization, the rate of polymerization and the monomer feed rate followed the Wessling relationship 1/R_p = 1/K + 1/R_m. The dispersions MMA/PU, BA/PU, and MMA/BA/PU have K values of 0.0441, 0.0419 and 0.0436 mol/min, respectively. The seeded BA/PU hybrid polymerization proceeded according to Smith‐Ewart Case I kinetics, while the MMA/PU hybrid emulsions demonstrate Case II of the Smith‐Ewart kinetic model. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 2639–2649, 2002     

Morphologies of polybutylacrylate/poly(styrene‐co‐methyl methacrylate) latex prepared by starved emulsion polymerization Part I. Thermodynamics equilibrium morphology

Heterogeneous latexes were prepared by a semicontinuous seeded emulsion polymerization process under monomer starved conditions at 80 °C using potassium persulfate as the initiator and sodium dodecyl sulfate as the emulsifier. Poly(butyl acrylate) latexes were used as seeds. The second‐stage polymer was poly(styrene‐co‐methyl methacrylate). By varying the amounts of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in the second‐stage copolymer, the polarity of the copolymer phase could be controlled. Phase separation towards the thermodynamic equilibrium morphology was accelerated either by ageing the composite latex at 80 °C or by adding a chain‐transfer agent during polymerization. The morphologies of the latex particles were examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The morphology distributions of latex particles were described by a statistical method. It was found that the latex particles displayed different equilibrium morphologies depending on the composition of the second‐stage copolymers. This series of equilibrium morphologies of [poly(butyl acrylate)/poly(styrene‐co‐methyl methacrylate)] (PBA/P(St‐co‐MMA)) system provides experimental verification for quantitative simulation. Under limiting conditions, the equilibrium morphologies of PBA/P(St‐co‐MMA) were predicted according to the minimum surface free energy change principle. The particle morphology observed by TEM was in good agreement with the predictions of the thermodynamic model. Therefore, the morphology theory for homopolymer/homopolymer composite systems was extended to homopolymer/copolymer systems. © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

Preparation of hemispherical poly(4‐vinylpyridine‐co‐butyl acrylate)/poly(styrene‐co‐butyl acrylate) composite microspheres by seeded preswelling emulsion polymerization

Seeded preswelling emulsion polymerization was carried out by using monodispersed poly(4‐vinylpyridine‐co‐butyl acrylate) [P(4VP‐BA)] particles as the seed, and styrene and butyl acrylate as the second‐stage monomers under different polymerization conditions, to obtain hemispherical polystyrene (PST)‐rich–P4VP‐rich microspheres. Prior to polymerization, toluene was added into the preswelling system together with the second‐stage monomers. It was found that, with the increase of the amount of toluene, the particle morphology showed a tendency toward desirable hemispherical structure, and the colloidal stability of composite latex was improved. When the weight ratio of toluene/seed latex was increased up to 7.5/40 (g/g), the stable hemispherical latex could be obtained. However, when toluene was not added, the coagulum formed on the wall of the reactor during polymerization, and the composite particles with multiple surface domains (such as sandwich‐like, popcorn‐like) were formed. In addition, the final morphology of composite particles was influenced by the polarity of the seed crosslinker and the hydrophilicity of the second‐stage initiator, which could affect the mobility of poly(styrene‐co‐butyl acrylate) [P(ST‐BA)] chains. The morphology development during the polymerization was investigated in detail, and a schematic model was derived to depict the formation mechanism of hemispherical P(4VP‐BA)/P(ST‐BA) composite microspheres. The results revealed that the mobility of the P(ST‐BA) chains influenced the diffusion of the P(ST‐BA) domains on the surface of the P(4VP‐BA) matrix. When the mobility of the P(ST‐BA) chains allowed small‐size P(ST‐BA) domains to coalesce into one larger domain, complete phase‐separated morphology (hemisphere) could be achieved. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 3811–3821, 2003     

Investigation for surface morphology variation of monodisperse polymer particle

Monodisperse polymer particles composed of polystyrene (PS) and poly(1,6‐hexanedioldiacrylate) were prepared via one‐step seeded polymerization using PS as seed particles. For the study, the effects of the molecular weight of seed polymer particles, the ratio of the absorbed hexanediol dimethacrylate (HDDA) to the seed polymer particles (swelling ratio), and the seeded polymerization rate on the surface morphology of poly(St‐HDDA) particles were investigated. It was observed that the crater‐shaped defect was at the surface of poly(St‐HDDA) particles, independent of the molecular weight of seed polymer, and swelling ratio. But its surface morphology could be controlled by changing the rate of the seeded polymerization. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 2385–2394, 2007     

Interfacial‐initiated seeded emulsion polymerization: preparation of polystyrene/poly(methacrylic acid) core/shell particles in the absence of surfactant

Composite polymer particles with hydrophobic polystyrene (PSt) as the core and hydrophilic poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) as the shell were prepared through two‐stage emulsion polymerization without any surfactant. In the first step, narrowly distributed PSt seed particles were prepared by surfactant‐free emulsion polymerization with 2,2′‐azobis(2‐methylpropionamide) dihydrochloride (AMPA) as the initiator. In the second step, hydrophilic PMAA shells were fabricated onto PSt seed particles through redox interfacial‐initiated seeded emulsion polymerization with cumyl hydroperoxide (CHPO)/ferrous sulfate/ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)/sodium formaldehydesulfoxylate (SFS), where the initiation took place mainly at the interface between PSt seed particles and the aqueous medium. The composite particles were characterized with transmission electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering, and the results show that a core/shell structure was successfully built. Hydrodynamic radius (R_h) of the composite particles increased with the amount of polymerized monomers in the seeded emulsion polymerization. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Kinetics and mechanism of seeded dispersion polymerization

The kinetics and mechanism of seeded dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) was studied by applying both micron and submicron PMMA seeds. Using a 1.7 μm PMMA seed (N_p = 1 × 10¹²/L) and a monomer polymer ratio (M/P) of 28/1, secondary nucleation was found to occur and the number of new particles exceeded that produced in a parallel ab initio dispersion polymerization. This was explained by the paradoxical initiator concentration effect seen in dispersion polymerizations where the number of particles decreases with increasing initiator concentration. In contrast, using 194 nm (N_p = 26 × 10¹²/L; M/P = 833/1) and 317 nm (N_p = 5.6 × 10¹²/L; M/P = 714/1) submicron seeds, it was found that the final particle number was similar to (or less in a few cases) the initial seed number over a relatively wide range of initiator concentrations. With increasing initiator concentration, the initial reaction rate increased but the maximum reaction rate decreased slightly. This was explained by increased radical termination particularly in unstable nuclei, leading to a reduced radical entry rate. The reaction rate was found to be moderately dependent on the number of seed particles, but was independent of the seed surface area. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Preparation of raspberry‐like poly(methyl methacrylate) particles by seeded dispersion polymerization

The facile preparation of nonspherical raspberry‐like poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) particles by seeded dispersion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) on micron‐sized PMMA seed particles was described. Various polymerization parameters influencing the particle morphology, as well as the polymerization kinetic and morphological stability, were investigated in detail. It was found that the following polymerization conditions were necessary to prepare this kind of nonspherical particles: a relatively low temperature, an appropriate ratio of seed/MMA, an initiator with a relatively low decomposition rate, and a relatively low initiator concentration. These particles showed very good morphological stability at room temperature, but they changed to the spherical ones when heat treated at 60°C in methanol solution of MMA. The experimental results suggest that the prepared PMMA particles were kinetically favored and the localized polymerization of the MMA monomer on PMMA seed particle surface was responsible for the formation of the raspberry‐like particles. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Highly crosslinked micron‐sized,monodispersed polystyrene particles by semicontinuous dispersion polymerization. II. Semicontinuous,delayed addition and seeded semicontinuous processes

A highly crosslinked, monodispersed polystyrene (PS) particle was prepared by the seeded semicontinuous dispersion polymerization using ready‐made monodispersed PS seed particles. The effects of Styrene (in 2nd stage)/Styrene (in PS seed) ratio, addition point and feeding time of divinylbenzene (DVB), concentration of DVB and polymerization temperature on the particle size, size distribution and morphology of the resulting particles were investigated. Monodispersed PS particles with 15 wt % of the DVB were prepared at 1/1 in St/St ratio, In comparison, highly crosslinked monodispersed and smooth‐surfaced PS particles containing up to 70 wt % of the DVB were effectively prepared at 0/1. 5% weight loss of the PS particles determined by TGA occurred from 353.3 to 389.6°C and the degree of swellability in toluene decreased from 113 to 101% as the DVB concentration increased from 10 to 70 wt %, implying increased thermal stability and solvent resistance due to the increase of the crosslink density. This study demonstrates that the seeded semicontinuous process, primarily with the starved condition at the second stage, is an efficient way to obtain highly crosslinked, monodispersed PS particles. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Electron microscopic observation of uniform macroporous particles. II. Effect of DVB concentration

The electron microscopic observation of uniform and macroporous poly(styrene‐co‐divinylbenzene) particles prepared by a two‐step seeded polymerization method was performed. In the synthesis of uniform macroporous particles, the uniform polystyrene latices produced by a dispersion polymerization method with two different sizes and average molecular weights were utilized as the seed particles. The seed particles were first swollen with dibutylphthalate and then with a monomer phase, including styrene and divinylbenzene. The macroporous structure of the final particles was achieved by using a porogen mixture consisting of dibutylphthalate and linear polystyrene. The linear polystyrene part of the porogen solution was directly obtained from the seed latex. The macroporous particles with different diameters and porosities were produced by changing the divinylbenzene concentration between 25 and 100% in the repolymerization step. The effect of divinylbenzene concentration on the size and the surface morphology of the final particles were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The internal structure of the final particles was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that the average size of the final particles increased with the increasing divinylbenzene concentration. The increase in the DVB concentration also led to an increase in the average pore size. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 71: 2291–2302, 1999     

Different dispersion polymerization strategies influence the quality of fluorescent poly (St‐co‐GMA) microspheres

The polymerization strategy plays a vital role in the preparation of functional microspheres. In this work, fluorescent poly (styrene‐co‐glycidyl methacrylate) (PSt‐GMA) microspheres were synthesized via one‐stage and two‐stage dispersion polymerization with 4‐Bis(5‐phenyl‐1,3‐oxazol‐2‐yl)benzene (POPOP) as fluorescence agent. SEM and DLS were adopted to characterize the properties of prepared microspheres. The UV‐vis and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to analyze the mechanisms of two‐stage dispersion polymerization. The experimental results showed that the size distribution and fluorescence intensity of prepared microspheres could be improved by two‐stage dispersion polymerization compared to one‐stage dispersion polymerization. In addition, according to UV‐vis, the interactions between POPOP and Poly (N‐vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) as well as POPOP and Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) could affect the particle size and its distribution. UV‐vis and fluorescence spectra implied that the POPOP existed outside of the particle's core via two‐stage strategy. The monomer conversion of styrene was similar at the beginning of reaction; however, the monomer conversion of styrene by two‐stage strategy was higher than that of by one‐stage strategy. In a word, two‐stage dispersion polymerization could prepare fluorescent microspheres with the monodispersion micrometer‐size and high quality. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41927.     

Preparation and characterization of polysiloxane–polyacrylates composite lattices by two seeded emulsion polymerization and their film properties

Gamma ray‐induced seeded emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate was carried out in the presence of polymerizable polysiloxane seed latex, which was obtained by the ring‐opening copolymerization of octamethyl cyclotetrasiloxane (D₄) and tetramethyl tetravinyl cyclotetrasiloxane(VD₄) catalyzed by dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA). After the first seeded polymerization, 3‐methacryloxylpropyltrimethoxylsilane (MPS) was added for the second seeded polymerization. The conversion–time curve showed that the first seeded polymerization rate was accelerated much by the polysiloxane seed latex. The final composite lattices also showed good storage stability, mechanical stability, and high electrolyte resistance ability. The morphology of the composite latex particles was found to be a quite uniform fine structure by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The graft of polyacrylates onto polysiloxane and hydrolysis of MPS were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectroscopy. The mechanical performance, water absorption ratio, surface properties, and transparency of the latex films were also investigated. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 1406–1411, 2007