Synthetic polymers have become the building block in almost every aspects of our daily life. Billions of pounds of polymers are produced each year and the demand is continuously growing both in terms of volume and advanced performance. The general property of a class of polymers is often bounded by the synthetic process that produces the polymer. For example,polyolefins, are non-polar polymers due to the poor tolerance of transition metal catalysts toward polar monomers. Conversely, latices are polar polymers, since the emulsion polymerization process limits the use of non-polar monomers which have low solubility in water. It is highly desirable to be able to design polymer systems with optimum polarity balance to meet the application demand while staying within the industrial manufacturing constraints.An overview of industrial polymerization methods will be followed by a presentation on the recent development of a new emulsion polymerization technology. The technology involves the use of Cyclodextrin, acting as "Phase Transport Catalyst", facilitating the diffusion of very hydrophobic and water insoluble monomers through the aqueous medium. A new class of latex polymers and their attributes will be discussed.
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