A polymer thin-film technique to study the micromorphology of core/shell latexes

A series of poly(styrene)/poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) core-shell latexes were synthesized by seeded emulsion polymerization. The dried latex was dissolved in toluene and then cast on the surface of water to form a very thin film (60–90 nm). Phase separation in the thin film was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electron micrographs of these thin films yielded fine structure and interesting morphology that was unattainable by ultramicrotoming of the corresponding compression-molded specimens. Glass transition temperatures and percent grafted polystyrene were correlated with the TEM results. As grafting increases, mixing of the two phases improves, with the resulting T_g value being between the two T_g's of poly(styrene) and poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile).