Chemicals & Polymers Blog

The terminology, surfactant is a connected word, appropriately derived from surface-active agent.  While used in an extensive range of industries, this blog post will focus on the use of surfactants in the CASE industry segment, where our products are applied in emulsion polymerizations and as stabilizers, dispersants, wetting agents and foam modifiers.  The main functions of surfactants in water-based CASE applications are to emulsify water-insoluble, hydrophobic monomers to facilitate polymerizations in anemulsion state, and to stabilized suspensions of the resulting synthetic polymers so they can be stored, formulated and subjected to shear forces.

Vinyl acrylic binders and resins are economical products that find extensive usage in interior architectural paints and caulks, adhesives and sealants, paper and textile binders, paper saturants, engineered fabrics, and pigment dispersions. With the unlimited variability in monomer options and copolymer ratios, vinyl acetate-acrylic copolymer binders allow the design of products with a wide spectrum of cost and performance profiles.  The role of the binder resin is to bind the pigments into a tough, continuous film and to promote the adhesion to the substrate surface while resisting wear and blistering etc.  Vinyl acetate monomer achieves cohesive strength in a binder at a low cost, while acrylic monomers like butyl and 2-ethylhexyl acrylates enhance the performance of copolymers by improving flexibility, water resistance, adhesion, scrub, and stain resistance and outdoor weathering.

The leading crosslinking technology for acrylic emulsion polymers is ambient temperature crosslinking chemistry based on diacetone acrylamide (DAAM) and adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH) monomers. This technology, known as “keto-hydrazide crosslinking,” involves the direct reaction of the pendant ketone moiety on the DAAM-acrylic polymer segment with the hydrazide moiety of the ADH, with the evaporation of water in the film-forming process. 

The highest adoption of this ambient temperature, self-crosslinking technology has been in high-durability paints and coatings for architecture, wood and concrete surfaces, and more. The DAAM/ADH pair is also used in crosslinkable sizing agents, thickeners, adhesives, and sealants.

Emulsion polymerization is the most widely employed industrial technology for a very broad range of polymer families and markets.  Polymer types include acrylics, vinyl-acrylics, polyvinyl acetate and copolymers, styrenics, polyvinyl chloride, styrene-butadiene copolymers, polyurethanes, epoxies, and alkyd emulsions. 

With 45 years in the global chemicals business, Gantrade is an experienced and responsible worldwide marketer of a broad range of value and innovation that helps our customers achieve sustained growth.