The University of Sydney Commercial Development & Industry Partnerships

Duluxgroup (australia) Pty Ltd.

Jason Michael Farrugia

Christopher Henry Such

Olga Maree Mackinnon

Brian Stanley Hawkett

Duc Ngoc Nguyen

Amanda Jane Chalmers

Elizabeth Ann Salter

A method of polymerizing monomer to form polymer at the surface of particulate material, said method comprising: providing a dispersion of said particulate material in a continuous liquid phase, said dispersion comprising a RAFT agent as a stabilizer for said particulate material, and said continuous liquid phase comprising one or more ethylenically unsaturated monomers; and polymerizing said one or more ethylenically unsaturated monomers under the control of said RAFT agent to thereby form polymer at the surface of said particulate material.

Polymerisation process and polymer product

The invention provides a process for preparing an aqueous dispersion of water insoluble heteropolymeric particles comprising polymerising in an aqueous reaction medium ethylenically unsaturated monomers, said ethylenically unsaturated monomers comprising ionisable ethylenically unsaturated monomers and non-ionisable hydrophilic ethylenically unsaturated monomers, to form said heteropolymeric particles dispersed in said aqueous reaction medium, wherein the monomers in said reaction medium at any point in time comprise less than 5 weight % of ionisable ethylenically unsaturated monomer, wherein for at least a part of the polymerisation the monomers in said reaction medium have a composition which is maintained with an ionisable ethylenically unsaturated monomer content of from 0.5 to less than 5 weight % throughout polymerisation of at least 30 weight % of the total amount of monomers polymerised to form the heteropolymeric particles, and wherein the total amount of non-ionisable hydrophilic ethylenically unsaturated monomers and ionisable ethylenically unsaturated monomers polymerised constitutes at least 75 weight % of the total amount of monomers polymerised to form the heteropolymeric particles, a method of preparing a paint comprising conventional paint additives and the aqueous dispersion of water insoluble heteropolymeric particles of the invention, and a novel aqueous dispersion of water insoluble heteropolymeric particles.

Aqueous polymer dispersion

Growing community of inventors

Laverton South, Australia

Jason Michael Farrugia