Molecular Characterization of Alkyd/Acrylic Latexes Prepared by Miniemulsion Polymerization

Abstract

The molecular characterization of alkyd/ acrylic hybrid latexes produced by miniemulsion polymerization was characterized in terms of the resin degree of grafting, acrylic degree of grafting, reacted double bonds in the alkyd, gel content, and molecular weight distribution of the sol part. A simple method based on conventional size exclusion chromatography measurements was developed to estimate the fraction of alkyd resin grafted to the acrylic polymer. The method could be applied to completely soluble hybrids and to hybrids containing gel. Also, the limits of the extraction method used in the literature to estimate the fraction of acrylic polymer grafted to the alkyd was investigated; we found that this technique only provided accurate results at high values of the acrylic degree of grafting. The combination of this information with the reacted double bonds of the alkyd (determined by iodine titration) and the molecular weight distribution of the sol polymer provided a detailed characterization of the alkyd–acrylic hybrid polymer.