An environmental scanning electron microscopy examination of the film formation mechanism of novel acrylic latex

We have employed environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) to study the film formation mechanisms of two acrylic latex compositions, here defined as standard (carboxymethyl cellulose stabilised) and novel (stabilised with a novel polysaccharide derived from agricultural waste). The ESEM analysis revealed that the microstructure of the standard system consists of individual particles and upon evaporation a continuous film is formed, which is consistent with the current models. However, in the case of the novel system the microstructure consists of individual particles and clusters and during evaporation a discontinuous film is formed with voids present within its structure. Based on the experimental evidence we propose a modification to the film formation mechanism for the novel latex system.