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Coalescence of polystyrene nodules in soft poly(butyl acrylate)‐based films
Author(s) -
Hidalgo Manuel,
Cavaillé JeanYves,
Cabane Bernard,
Chevalier Yves,
Guillot Jean,
Ríos Leonardo,
Vassoille René
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
polymers for advanced technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.61
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1099-1581
pISSN - 1042-7147
DOI - 10.1002/pat.1995.220060507
Subject(s) - materials science , polystyrene , scanning electron microscope , acrylate , emulsion polymerization , chemical engineering , polymer , annealing (glass) , polymer chemistry , coalescence (physics) , emulsion , butyl acrylate , ethyl acrylate , composite material , polymerization , copolymer , physics , astrobiology , engineering
A two‐stage emulsion polymerization procedure was used in order to obtain core–shell polymer particles having a core of polystyrene (PS), covered by a shell of either pure poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) or a methacrylic acid‐functionalized PBA. Films were then cast from these latexes, and their properties were studied without further treatments (“as‐dried” films), as well as after a 3 hr heat treatment intended to provoke the coalescence of PS domains (“annealed” films). “As‐dried” and “annealed” film samples were studied by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and small angle neutron scattering (SANS). DMA and SEM results, as described in previous works, showed that for unfunctionalized films, the percolated PS domains coalesced under the annealing treatment, while for the functionalized films, they did not. On the other hand, SANS results presented here showed that even in the case of functionalized films, the presence of coalescence could be detected. It was concluded that while DMA and SEM reveal large‐scale modifications provoked by the heat treatment, SANS is capable of detecting very smallscale changes which do not have a direct effect on the bulk physical properties of the samples.