Thermodynamic equilibrium morphology prediction of polyurethane/polyacrylate composite latex particles

Composite particles were prepared by seeded surfactant-free batch emulsion polymerization at 80 degrees C using K2S2O8 as an initiator, and polyurethane aqueous dispersion as seed particles. The acrylate monomers were continuously added into the reactor under a starving condition in the second stage polymerization. The synthesized hybrid emulsions were found to form an inverted core-shell structure with polyacrylate as the core and with polyurethane as the shell from the observation with a transmission electron microscope. The interfacial tensions between polymer and polymer as well as polymer and water were calculated with a simple method according to harmonic mean equation and used in a mathematical model based on the minimum interfacial energy change principle to predict the equilibrium morphology. The observed particle morphologies were in good agreement with the predicted ones. The surface properties of the dried films formed from polyurethane (PU)/polyacrylate (PA) composite emulsions were also studied by contact angle measurements, showing that the shell part of the composite emulsions is preferentially oriented toward the surface layers of the dried films.