Challenges in predicting and controlling particle morphology in latices of commercial complexity

Independent, quantitative models for free energy associated with crosslinked seed latices, and monomer and surfactant at the polymer/water interface have been integrated into a predictive model for latex particle morphology. It has been found that very low levels of crosslinking are predicted to influence the particle morphology in a dramatic fashion. Free energy calculation also highlight the often critical role played by surfactant. Highly active surfactants tend to equalize the two polymer/water interfacial tensions and allow the polymer/water interfacial energy to significantly influence the particle morphology.