ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY STUDY: EFFECT OF LOW VOC COALESCENTS ON MORPHOLOGY AND PHASE DISTRIBUTION OF LATEX FILMS

摘要

Environmental regulations have been the driving force for the development of new additives. Despite the significant increase in low volatile organic compound (VOC) additives for waterborne architectural coatings, there is a lack of knowledge about how these additives affect latex film formation at the microscopic level in defining the morphology and properties of polymeric films and coatings. In this work, films of all-acrylic and vinyl-acrylic latexes containing low VOC coalescents were investigated through AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy). All the latexes had coalescent content to allow the formation of continuous and transparent films at 0 °C. All three low VOC coalescents that were investigated have VOC content ≤ 10 wt% based on Method 313 of South Coast Air Quality Management District. Comparison of latexes films containing low VOC coalescents and a standard high VOC coalescent showed significant differences in morphologies and phase distribution, which can affect the performance of the final paint.