In Part 1 of this article series,1 we discussed a new class of reactive surfactants, both nonionic and anionic, for use in both conventional aqueous emulsion polymers and in UV-curable coatings that contain two polymerizable moieties. These new reactive surfactants can be employed either as emulsifiers or as pigment dispersants.
Our new reactive surfactants are block copolymers of two or more moles of allyl glycidyl ether (AGE) and ethylene oxide terminated on the AGE end with a hydrophobic moiety. The addition of a second equivalent of AGE significantly reduces the amount of non-reactive surfactant in the product so that increases in coating repellency may be achieved.