Structured latexes provide an interesting route to coatings and films organized on a nanometer scale. Particularly intriguing is the case of waterborne latex particles made of a soft core and a hard hydrophobic shell. Remarkably, when well designed such latexes form continuous composite films under ambient conditions. The films may have unique properties thanks to the continuity of the rigid and hydrophobic matrix made of shells pushed into contact by capillary forces and to a high volume fraction of soft inclusions. We address two main questions about the film formation and cohesion mechanisms. The first concerns understanding of how such particles can deform under the action driving forces, despite the presence of the hard rigid shells, to form a dense array of particles in contact. The second is related to understanding of how such films can exhibit sufficient cohesion despite the presence of high glass temperature shells preventing any interdiffusion between neighboring particles.
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