| Polyvinyl acetate copolymers are widely used in latex paints. These copolymers are made by emulsion polymerization. This thesis reports the influence of polymerization variables on the performance of such copolymers in this application. A single chemical composition was used, but other components of the emulsion reaction were varied.; Particular emphasis is given here to the effects of colloidal stabilizer on the behaviour of latex and paints. The relations between emulsion particle size and glass transition temperature and minimum film temperature were also studied.; A feature of this work has been the examination of the rheological behaviour of lattices and the water-based coatings derived from them. Special emphasis has been given to the effects of dilution and the mechanisms of the actions of different thickeners.; For clarity, the thesis has been divided into self-contained chapters, each with its own list of tables, figures and references. Abstracts of each chapter follow. |
