(34c) Design and Synthesis of Emulsion Polymer Dispersions and Resins for Industrial Products with Improved Eco-Footprint

Emulsion polymerization is a powerful technology for the commercial production of a wide range of polymer dispersions for an even wider range of industrial applications. This technique can produce polymers with diverse chemical functionality, molecular weight, morphology, and viscosity. The versatility of emulsion polymerization allows synthetic chemists and process engineers to design an almost infinite variety of polymers with a diverse balance of properties and applications. Consequently emulsion polymer dispersions and resins have found broad utility in markets such as coatings, plastics additives, adhesives, home and personal care, and construction chemicals among others.

One essential application for emulsion polymers is the waterborne architectural coatings market. In the United States over 800 million gallons of house paint are produced each year, very often containing significant amounts of TiO₂ to provide the opacity required by consumers. This raw material has a large impact on the environmental carbon footprint and is typically used inefficiently due to multi-particle interactions. To mitigate this, polymeric pre-composite emulsion particles have been designed to interact with coatings grade TiO₂, improving the eco-profile and performance while lowering the cost of paint by increasing the efficiency of the relatively expensive TiO₂. This novel technology utilizes a smarter material which reacts with TiO₂ to form a self-assemble pre-composite during the paint making process. The resultant pigment/polymer composites create a highly ordered distribution of TiO₂ in the paint film, improving not only its efficiency but also barrier and mechanical properties. This innovative technology provides cost-efficient improvements in key sustainability metrics as demonstrated by a third-party validated life cycle assessment. Production of this technology is measured by millions of pounds and was recently awarded R&D 100 award and EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award.

Another challenge for this market is that environmental regulations continue to drive the architectural coatings market towards lower volatile organic compounds (VOC), it is vital for eco and environmentally friendly architectural coatings to possess properties such as low odor, zero emission, and formaldehyde abating while providing ever higher performance. To overcome these challenges, novel emulsion polymers were designed with post film formation crosslinking chemistries and optimized latex particle morphology. Through incorporation of new functionalities, this emulsion technology also provides formaldehyde abating abilities, greatly reducing air pollution due to impurities in coatings.