Revisiting emulsion polymerization to produce stable,translucent, nanolatex of partially water‐soluble monomers,ethylacrylate–methylmethacrylate

Stable, translucent nanolatex with monomer weight % as high as 25 was obtained through emulsion copolymerization of partially water‐soluble monomers, ethyl acrylate and methylmethacrylate. The kinetics of reaction, studied at monomer/surfactant (M/S) ratio 10 and 50 showed two intervals and higher rate of particle nucleation for KPS initiated systems. However, AIBN initiated system showed phase separation. The copolymer composition was determined through ¹H‐NMR studies and copolymers showed two glass transition temperatures. Dynamic light scattering studies indicated bimodal distribution of polymer particle size. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 2593–2603, 2003