Preparation and characterization of oxidized starch-graft-poly(styrene-butyl acrylate) latex via emulsion polymerization

Abstract

Abstract Oxidized starch-graft-poly(styrene-butyl acrylate) [OS-g-P(St-BA)] latex was synthesized by the graft copolymerization of OS with St and n-butyl acrylate (BA) via emulsion polymerization. The graft copolymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering, thermogravimetry (TG), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The effects of the amount of OS, monomers, and initiator on graft copolymerization were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the percentage of graft (PG), grafting efficiency (GE), and ζ potential could reach 256.5%, 41.7%, and -30.1 mV, respectively. The results indicated that the OS grafted onto particles greatly enhanced the colloidal stability of latex. The thermal stability properties of OS-g-P(St-BA) were also improved by the addition of OS. The OS-g-P(St-BA) latex may be used to partly replace the conventional synthetic latex for paper coating.