Interdiffusion during film formation of ionically cross‐linked acrylics investigated with Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)

Abstract

Polymer interdiffusion is crucial to obtain continuous films from aqueous polymer dispersions. Here, interdiffusion in films from dispersions of acrylates which were ionically cross-linked prior to film formation was studied by Förster resonance energy transfer analysis. Dispersions of copolymers of n-butyl acrylate, methacrylic acid, and zinc dimethacrylate (ZnDMA) were investigated. ZnDMA was used as a co-monomer to ionically cross link the polymers during the synthesis. Ionic cross-linking does not prevent interdiffusion even at high gel contents. Interdiffusion data were compared with results of tensile tests on final films. Films of ionically cross-linked polymers fracture at both higher stress and strain than films of covalently cross-linked polymers. Further interdiffusion studies addressed effects of temperature and humidity. Both increased temperature and humidity accelerate interdiffusion of ionically crosslinked polymers. Thus, using ZnDMA allows for preparing dispersions which can form continuous films. Also, no volatile organic compounds are released during the film formation.

Fabricating an Ordered Array of Silver Nanoparticles $via$ the Nanosphere Lithography Technique

“…5. The nanospheres have to balance two forces, i.e., adhesion between polystyrene nanospheres and adhesion between polystyrene nanospheres and substrate, as they experience polymer interdiffusion, which is the primary cause of defect formation [31].…”

Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer Measurements in Polymer Science: A Review

“…These results illustrate the immense power of using FRET‐based measurements in conjunction with other characterization methods to deconvolute complex physical processes in polymer systems. Furthermore, FRET was employed to investigate interdiffusion of particles within films made from dispersions of acrylates with ionic crosslinks formed by adding zinc dimethacrylate as a comonomer [226] . The FRET dyes were incorporated in the same way as previously mentioned in linear and cross‐linked chains and the results showed that even at high levels of crosslinking, interdiffusion was still possible during film formation and increasing the humidity accelerated the interdiffusion in the ionically cross‐linked films.…”

Film Formation of Two‐Stage Acrylic Latexes: Toward Soft‐Core/Hard‐Shell Systems

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