Hybrid Acrylic-Casein Nanoparticles

PICCHIO, MATÍAS L.; MINARI, ROQUE J.; BARANDIARAN, MARÍA J.; GUGLIOTTA, LUIS M.

Dresden

Congreso; European Polymer Congress 2015; 2015

European Polymer Federation

The use of casein as renewable resource to produce eco-friendly hybrid nanoparticles has an increasing importance in industrial applications, especially for high performance waterborne coatings [1]. This work describes the synthesis of hybrid acrylic-casein nanoparticles by emulsion polymerization of acrylic monomers in presence of varied concentration of casein and tert-butyl hydroperoxide as initiator [2]. In this work, polymerization kinetic, degree of compatibility (casein and acrylic grafting) and film properties of the synthesized nanoparticles are analyzed. Due to the fact that the fraction of grafted casein depends on the casein content of latexes, the film properties also show a marked variation with its composition. Thus, the poorer film performances are obtained when using high protein concentrations because the fraction of ungrafted casein is higher. Therefore, to overcome that limitation a crosslinkable casein, which contains acrylic groups able to radically polymerize, is employed. The degree of grafting of both acrylic and casein was significantly increased by using the crosslinkable casein. Furthermore, it is observed that the improved degree of compatibility obtained when using the crosslinkable casein considerably enhanced the properties of the acrylic/casein films. The mechanisms responsible for these effects will be discussed along this presentation.Acknowledgements: The financial support received from CONICET, the SECTeI of Santa Fe State (Argentina) and the Secretary of University Policies from the Educational Ministry of Argentina are gratefully acknowledged. [1] G.W. Huber, S.Iborra, A. Corma. Chem. Rev., 2006, 106, 4044? 4098.[2] M.L. Picchio, R.J. Minari, V.D.G. González, M.C.G. Passegi, J.R. Vega, M.J. Barandarian, L.M. Gugliotta. Macromol. Symp. 2014, 344, 76-85.