| Abstract: | The surface properties of films prepared from a blend of precipitated calcium carbonate pigment (PCC) and poly(n‐butyl methacrylate‐co‐n‐butyl acrylate) P(BMA/BA); Tg = 0°C] latex were investigated in terms of the surface characteristics of the PCC and P(BMA/BA) latex particles. It was found that the presence of carboxyl groups on the P(BMA/BA) latex particles significantly improved the uniformity of the distribution of the PCC particles within the P(BMA/BA) copolymer matrix and the gloss of the resulting films. This phenomenon could be explained by an acid‐base reaction between the PCC particles and the carboxylated P(BMA/BA) latex particles. Studies on the influence of the composition of PCC/P(BMA/BA) latex blends on the gloss and transparency of the films were also performed, which led to the determination of the critical pigment volume concentration (CPVC) of this system, which was found to be 42 vol %. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 891–900, 2002 |
