Preparation and Evaluation of Some Homo and Copolymeric Emulsions for Latex Paint Applications

Emulsion homopolymerization of vinyl acetate (VAc) and emul sion copolymerization of VAc with butyl acrylate (BuA) using potassium persulfate-acetone sodium bisulfite as a developed redox pair initiation system were investigated. The rate of copolymerization decreased with increasing BuA content. The copolymer compositions were determined by H ¹ NMR analysis and the reactivity ratios for VAc and BuA were calculated using the Fine man-Ross equation and found to be r1 = 0.21 and r2 = 3.3 respectively. The prepared stable emulsions were incorporated into latex paint formulations. The physico-mechanical properties of the dried polymer and paint films im proved significantly with increasing BuA content.