Molecular design and synthesis of acrylic resin film-forming materials with wide applicable temperature range via RAFT emulsion polymerization

Abstract

Abstract The symmetric polystyrene- block -poly( n -butyl acrylate)- block -polystyrene (SAS) triblock copolymers with wide applicable temperature range have been designed and synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) emulsion polymerization. The high poly( n -butyl acrylate) (PBA) block content introduced will endow the SAS with the ability of working as film-forming materials. The microphase separation and mechanism of wide applicable temperature range were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The static and dynamic mechanical properties, visible light transmittance, water resistance and thermal stability of SAS were also characterized by tensile test, DMA, spectrophotometer, water absorption and thermogravimetric analysis. The tensile strength decreases and elongation at break increases with the PBA block content of SAS increasing from 50 wt.% to 70 wt.%. The maximum elongation at break reaches 707%. The broad thermoplastic elastic region from −40 °C to 80 °C works well in the surrounding of a big temperature difference due to the PBA block in rubbery state and the PSt block in glassy state. The SAS has high transmittance, low water absorption and favorable thermal stability. This research will provide a reference for film-forming materials with wide applicable temperature range.