Optimization of Waterborne Poly(Urethane-Acrylate) Nanoemulsions Based on Cationic Polymerizable Macrosurfactants with Different Hydrophobic Side Chain Length.

In situ surfactant-free emulsion polymerization can help avoid the utilization of harmful co-solvents and surfactants in the preparation of waterborne poly(urethane-acrylate) (WPUA) nanoemulsion, but the solid content is extremely limited, which will affect the drying rate and film-forming properties. The utilization of polymerizable macrosurfactants can overcome the above problems. However, the research on cationic polymerizable macrosurfactants is extremely scarce. In this work, cationic dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate-b-alkyl methacrylates block copolymers (PDM--PRMA) with terminal double bonds and different hydrophobic side chain (HSC) lengths were fabricated via catalytic chain transfer polymerization (CCTP). HSC length of PDM--PRMA played an important role in the phase inversion, morphology, rheological behavior of WPUA nanoemulsions, as well as the comprehensive performance of WPUA/PDM--PRMA films. Polymerizable PDM--PBMA macrosurfactant had smaller molecular weight, lower surface tension and colloidal size than the random copolymer (PDM--PBMA) by traditional free radical polymerization. It was easy for PDM--PRMA to orientedly assemble at the oil/water interface and provide better emulsifying ability when the carbon number of HSC was four. Compared with WPUA/PDM--PBMA, WPUA/PDM--PBMA had a smaller particle size, stability and better film-forming properties. This work elucidated the mechanisms of HSC length in the fabrication of cationic PDM--PRMA and provides a novel strategy to prepare cationic WPUA of high performance.