Glycine Derived Polymerizable Cosurfactant in the Synthesis of Functionalized Poly(butyl acrylate) Nanolatexes

The approach of employing N-glycinylmaleamic acid (NGMA) as an efficient cosurfactant to provide microemulsion polymerization of butyl acrylate using a weight ratio of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/butyl acrylate (BA) at ≤1.5, which is lower than that employed in previous experiments, has been demonstrated. The narrow polydispersity index at 1.36−1.48 of poly(butyl acrylate) copolymers from investigated microemulsion polymerization reactions evidences the promotion of a controlled polymerization reaction, in contrast to the solution polymerization method generating polymers with higher polydispersity index at 3.15−4.23. The enhanced incorporation of NGMA at ∼0.35 m in the copolymer demonstrates the merits of the proximity effect enabled in the microemulsion polymerization reaction. The incorporation of NGMA promotes rigidity of the polymer chain as suggested by a higher T g of −16.8 °C for the copolymer in comparison to that of the poly(butyl acrylate) homopolymer.