Hydrophobe-free miniemulsion polymerization: towards high solid content of fatty acid-based poly(urethane-urea) latexes

Abstract

Polyurethane-urea latex particles were synthesized by miniemulsion polyaddition of fatty acid-based diol derivatives and isophorone diisocyanate. The influence of the solid content, the surfactant and the hydrophobic agent was studied. Stable monodispersed latex particles with diameters around 200–300 nm were obtained with the solid content up to 50 wt%, without the use of any additional hydrophobic agent.