The α,ω-diacrylate poly(dimethylsiloxane) (DA-PDMS) containing vinyl ester of versatic acid/vinyl acetate (Veova-10/VAc) was prepared by emulsion copolymerization of (DA-PDMS), Veova-10 (with VAc), and auxiliary agents at 85 ℃ in the presence of ammonium peroxodisulfate (APS) as an initiator. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and nonylphenol ethylene oxide-40 units (NP-40) were used as anionic and nonionic emulsifiers, respectively. The resulting copolymers were characterized by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Thermal properties of the copolymers were studied by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The morphology of copolymers was also investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and then the effects of variables such as temperature, agitation speed, surfactant kinds, molecular weights, initiator, and DA-PDMS concentrations on the properties of the silicone-containing Veova-10/VAc emulsions were examined. The calculation of monomer conversion versus time histories indicates that by increasing the DA-PDMS concentration the polymerization rate and the number of polymer particles decrease, respectively.

Keywords: emulsion copolymerization; silicone containing emulsions; α,ω-diacrylate poly(dimethylsiloxane); vinyl ester of versatic acid; vinyl acetate