A NOVEL APPROACH TO THE CHARACTERIZATION OF ACRYLIC LATEX THICKENING
Latex; thickeners; DLS.
Alkali-soluble latex thickeners are extensively used in activities such as coating manufacturing, cosmetics, and textile industry. They increase apparent viscosity as a result of neutralization of carboxyl groups present in latex particles. Rheometry is the main method used to monitor the rheological activity of these substances. In this work, we propose the use of dynamic light scattering to get quantitative parameters and correlate them to viscosity increase: more specifically, the characteristic and average relaxation rates, as well as the width of the relaxation rate distribution. Critical changes of these parameters were observed during thickening; drastic changes at the same point were also observed when using the more traditional methods of monitoring rheometry, conductometry, and turbidimetry.