High Solid Acrylic–Melamine Latexes with Tunable Crosslinking Capability

摘要

Miniemulsion polymerization is employed to produce high solid content (50%) acrylic/melamine latexes with varied crosslinking capability, for their potential application as waterborne crosslinkable coatings. This synthesis strategy allows the efficient incorporation of a hydrophobic crosslinker, iso-butylated melamine (iBMF), into polymer particles, and to obtain latexes with different iBMF concentrations and acrylic polymer with varied content of hydroxylic groups (OH-). The involved crosslinking mechanisms and the physical transformations during film thermosetting of acrylic/iBMF nanocomposite are exhaustively investigated by combining thermal, spectroscopic, and thermo-mechanical analyses. The influence of reactive groups concentration (iBMF and OH- content in the acrylic polymer) on the rate of curing, the crosslinking degree, and consequently onto the sensitive properties of cured films are discussed here.