Preparation and characterization of emulsifier-free polyphenylsilsesquioxane-poly (styrene–butyl acrylate) hybrid particles

The core–shell polyphenylsilsesquioxane-poly (styrene–butyl acrylate) hybrid latex paticles with polyphenylsilsesquioxane as core and poly (styrene–butyl acrylate) as shell were successfully synthesized by seeded emulsion polymerization using polyphenylsisesquioxane (PPSQ) latex particles as seeds. X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated that the polyphenylsilsesquioxane (PPSQ) had ladder structure, and PPSQ had incorporated into the hybrid latex particles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed that the resultant hybrid latex particles had the core–shell structure. TEM and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis indicated that the polyphenylsisesquioxane latex particles and obtained core–shell hybrid latex particles were uniform and possessed narrow size distributions. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis also indicated that the PPSQ core particles were enwrapped by the polymer shell. In addition, compared with pure poly (styrene–butyl acrylate) latex film, the polyphenylsilsesquioxane-poly (styrene–butyl acrylate) hybrid latex film exhibited lower water uptake, higher pencil hardness and better thermal stability.