Particle morphology of self-hydrolyzed acrylate polymer colloids: A 13C NMR and DSC study

Methyl acrylate polymer colloids can be hydrolyzed self-catalytically by bound strong acid surface groups derived from the polymerization initiator. The kinetics of hydrolysis were earlier shown to be apparently pseudo-zeroth-order for any given latex, and first order with respect to surface strong acid concentration. A surface reaction zone model was proposed to explain the kinetics. This model leads to the prediction that the polymer particles will possess a core-shell morphology after some hydrolysis has occurred. This study employs ¹³C NMR spectroscopy to investigate the particle morphology in the wet latex, a new application for this method. The temperature dependence of the ¹³C NMR integrated intensities at various levels of hydrolysis provides strong evidence that the particles do possess core-shell morphology, and that the shell is composed of PAA/PMA copolymer. This shell is swollen and plasticized by water, resulting in greatly enhanced segmental mobility of the polymer chains as evidenced by marked narrowing of the NMR lines. Thermal measurements alone cannot distinguish particle morphology because PMA appears to be somewhat compatible with its partially hydrolyzed analog at the temperatures of measurement.