Paper Number
SC46 

Session
Suspensions and Colloids

Title
Designing multicomponent polymer colloids for self-stratifying films

Presentation Date and Time
October 12, 2022 (Wednesday) 2:30

Track / Room
Track 1 / Sheraton 4

Authors (Click on name to view author profile)

  1. Singh, Piyush K. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
  2. Pacholski, Michaeleen L. (The Dow Chemical Company,)
  3. Gu, Junsi (The Dow Chemical Company)
  4. Go, Yoo Kyung (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Materials Science and Engineering)
  5. Singhal, Gaurav (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Materials Science and Engineering)
  6. Leal, Cecilia (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Materials Science and Engineering)
  7. Braun, Paul V. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Materials Science and Engineering)
  8. Patankar, Kshitish A. (The Dow Chemical Company)
  9. Drumright, Ray (The Dow Chemical Company)
  10. Rogers, Simon A. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)
  11. Schroeder, Charles M. (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)

Author and Affiliation Lines (in printed abstract book)
Piyush K. Singh1, Michaeleen L. Pacholski2, Junsi Gu2, Yoo Kyung Go3, Gaurav Singhal3, Cecilia Leal3, Paul V. Braun3, Kshitish A. Patankar4, Ray Drumright4, Simon A. Rogers1 and Charles M. Schroeder3
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801; 2The Dow Chemical Company, Collegeville, PA; 3Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801; 4The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, MI

Speaker / Presenter 
Singh, Piyush K.

Keywords
colloids; composite rheology; consumer products; polymer blends; polymer melts

Text of Abstract
Aqueous polymer colloids known as latexes are widely used in coating applications. Multicomponent latexes comprised of two incompatible polymeric species organized into a core-shell particle morphology are a promising system for self stratifying coatings that spontaneously partition into multiple layers, thereby yielding complex structured coatings requiring only a single application step. Developing new materials for self-stratifying coatings requires a clear understanding of the thermodynamic and kinetic properties governing phase separation and polymeric species transport. In this work, we study phase separation and self-stratification in polymer films based on multicomponent acrylic (shell) and acrylic-silicone (core) latex particles. Our results show that the molecular weight of shell polymer and heat aging conditions of the film critically determine the underlying transport phenomena, which ultimately controls phase separation in the film. Unentangled shell polymers result in efficient phase separation within hours with heat aging at reasonable temperatures, whereas entangled shell polymers effectively inhibit phase separation even under extensive heat aging conditions over a period of months due to kinetic limitations. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is used to track morphological changes as a function of thermal aging. Interestingly, our results show that the rheological properties of the latex films are highly sensitive to morphology, and linear shear rheology is used to understand morphological changes. Overall, these results highlight the importance of bulk rheology as a simple and effective tool for understanding morphology changes in multicomponent latex films.