Did you know that differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) can be an important, even critical, analytical tool for determining the morphology of composite latex particles?
There are important advantages related to the latex properties that can be achieved with a semi-batch process, and more specifically a starve-fed process, which is simply a semi-batch process where the monomer concentration inside the polymer particles is kept very low by keeping the monomer feed rate to the reactor low.
Although often not appreciated, it is important to recognize is that how you conduct your process has a profound impact on where the acid groups reside and therefore on your final product properties.
The average molecular weight of a latex can be influenced by a number of factors, but it is often not realized that the number of particles in the latex (which is directly related to particle size) is important in determining molecular weight.
Whatever your reasons for varying the monomer feed rates, be aware that there may be unintended effects; in addition to the desired outcome, some product properties may also change.
We have been working on morphology control in latex particles for many years and have come to learn that achieving desired structures in composite particles is dependent not only upon the emulsion polymerization recipe, but also strongly upon the reaction process conditions.
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