Colloidal unimolecular polymer (CUP) particles are spheroidal nano-scale and 3–9 nm that can be easily designed and controlled. The formation of CUP involves simple synthesis and water reduction. These nanoparticles have charged hydrophilic groups on the surface and are surrounded by a layer of surface water that does not freeze until very low temperature. CUPs have very high surface area per gram, which gives them a high nonfreezing water content. The CUP system is free of surfactant and has zero VOC, exhibiting great potential for coatings applications. The amount and thickness of the surface water were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) using the heat of fusion. The solution density and knowledge of the resin density and the composition of the CUP solution were used to determine the density of surface water. The evaporation rate of free water and surface water in CUP solutions were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and showed the effect of CUP on the evaporation rate. CUP as an additive to give freeze thaw stability, wet edge retention and open time improvements were explored. Excellent performance in freeze thaw, wet edge time improvement and more open time was found. The CUP system offers an excellent alternative to form zero VOC waterborne coatings.

胶体单分子聚合物（CUP）颗粒为球形纳米级且3–9 nm，可以轻松设计和控制。CUP的形成涉及简单的合成和减水。这些纳米粒子在表面上带有带电的亲水基团，并被一层表面水包围，直到极低的温度，表面水才会冻结。CUP具有非常高的每克表面积，这使其具有很高的非冻结水含量。CUP系统不含表面活性剂，VOC为零，在涂料应用中显示出巨大的潜力。利用熔融热通过差示扫描量热法（DSC）确定表面水的量和厚度。使用溶液密度以及对树脂密度和CUP溶液组成的了解来确定地表水的密度。通过热重分析（TGA）研究了CUP溶液中游离水和地表水的蒸发速率，并显示了CUP对蒸发速率的影响。探索了将CUP作为添加剂以提供冻融稳定性，湿边缘保持力和开放时间的改进方法。发现了优异的冻融性能，改善的湿边缘时间和更多的开放时间。CUP系统是形成零VOC水性涂料的绝佳选择。