The presence of low-molar-mass surfactants in latex films results in detrimental effects on their water permeability, gloss, and adhesion. For applications such as coatings, there is a need to develop formulations that do not contain surfactants and have better water barrier properties. Having previously reported the synthesis of surfactant-free latex particles in water using low amounts (<2 wt %) of chains synthesized by controlled radical polymerization (Lesage de la Haye et al. Macromolecules2017, 50, 9315–9328), here we study the water barrier properties of films made from these particles and their application in anticorrosion coatings. When films cast from aqueous dispersions of acrylate copolymer particles stabilized with poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSSNa) were immersed in water for 3 days, they sorbed only 4 wt % water. This uptake is only slightly higher than the value predicted for the pure copolymer, indicating that the negative effects of any particle boundaries and hydrophilic-stabilizing molecules are minimal. This sorption of liquid water is 5 times lower than what is found in films cast from particles stabilized with the same proportion of poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA), which is more hydrophilic than PSSNa. In water vapor with 90% relative humidity, the PSSNa-based film had an equilibrium sorption of only 4 wt %. A small increase in the PMAA content has a strong and negative impact on the barrier properties. Nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry on polymer films after immersion in water shows that water clusters have the smallest size in the films containing PSSNa. Furthermore, these films retain their optical clarity during immersion in liquid water for up to 90 min, whereas all other compositions quickly develop opacity (“water whitening”) as a result of light scattering from sorbed water. This implies a remarkably complete coalescence and a very small density of defects, which yields properties matching those of some solvent-borne films. The latex stabilized with PSSNa is implemented as the binder in a paint formulation for application as an anticorrosive barrier coating on steel substrates and evaluated in accelerated weathering and corrosion tests. Our results demonstrate the potential of self-stabilized latex particles for the development of different applications, such as waterborne protective coatings and pressure-sensitive adhesives.

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通过MacroRAFT介导的乳液聚合获得的无表面活性剂聚合物薄膜的增强的阻水性能

乳胶膜中低摩尔质量表面活性剂的存在会对它们的水渗透性，光泽度和附着力产生不利影响。对于涂料等应用，需要开发不含表面活性剂且具有更好的阻水性能的制剂。先前报道具有无表面活性剂胶乳粒子在水中使用低量（<2重量％）通过受控自由基聚合合成链的合成（勒萨德拉海牙等人的Macromolecules 2017年，50（9315–9328），这里我们研究了由这些颗粒制成的薄膜的阻水性能及其在防腐涂料中的应用。当将由用聚（4-苯乙烯磺酸钠）（PSSNa）稳定化的丙烯酸酯共聚物颗粒的水分散体浇铸的薄膜浸入水中3天时，它们仅吸收4 wt％的水。这种吸收仅略高于纯共聚物的预测值，表明任何颗粒边界和亲水稳定分子的负面影响极小。液态水的吸附量比用相同比例的聚（甲基丙烯酸）（PMAA）稳定化的颗粒（比PSSNa亲水性更高）稳定的颗粒流延的薄膜低5倍。在相对湿度为90％的水蒸气中，基于PSSNa的薄膜的平衡吸附仅为4 wt％。PMAA含量的少量增加会对阻隔性能产生强烈和负面的影响。浸入水中的聚合物薄膜的核磁共振弛豫法表明，在含有PSSNa的薄膜中，水团簇的尺寸最小。此外，这些薄膜在浸入液态水中长达90分钟的过程中仍保持其光学透明度，而所有其他组合物由于从被吸收的水中散射而迅速形成不透明性（“水白化”）。这意味着非常完全的聚结和非常小的缺陷密度，从而产生了与某些溶剂型薄膜相匹配的性能。用PSSNa稳定的胶乳在涂料配方中用作粘合剂，可在钢基材上用作防腐蚀涂层，并在加速的耐候性和腐蚀测试中进行了评估。