Cross-linked network development in compatibilized alkyd/acrylic hybrid latex films for the creation of hard coatings.

Hybrids made from an alkyd resin and an acrylic copolymer can potentially combine the desired properties of each component. Alkyd/acrylic hybrid latex particles were synthesized via miniemulsion polymerization and used to create films at room temperature. Comparisons of the alkyd auto-oxidative cross-linking rates and the associated network development are made between two alkyd resins (with differing levels of hydrophilicity as measured by their acid numbers). The effects of increasing the compatibilization between the alkyd and the acrylic phase via functionalization with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) are investigated. Magnetic resonance profiling and microindentation measurements reveal that film hardening occurs much faster in a GMA-functionalized alkyd hybrid than in the standard hybrid. The film's hardness increases by a factor of 4 over a 5-day period. The rate of cross-linking is significantly slower in nonfunctionalized alkyd hybrid films and when the more hydrophilic alkyd resin is used. Tensile deformation of the hybrid latex films reveals the effects of GMA functionalization and drier concentration in creating a denser cross-linked network. Modeling of the tensile deformation behavior of the hybrid films used a combination of the upper convected Maxwell model (to describe the viscoelastic component) and the Gent model (to describe the elastic component). The modeling provides a correlation between the cross-linked network formation and the resulting mechanical properties.

Evolving stresses in latex films as a function of temperature.

Latex films were dried on a flexible substrate, and the substrate deflection was monitored over time to give an averaged film stress-evolution profile. Films were dried at various temperatures below and above the minimum film-formation temperature of the latex dispersion. The effect of polymer rheology, which is a temperature-dependent parameter, on film formation, was investigated. The reliability of the Stoney model in predicting film stress from substrate curvature was also examined and compared to the Euler-Bernoulli model. It was shown that the linearized Stoney model was unsuitable for the larger measured stresses.