Preparation and damping properties of polyacrylate and epoxy resin/polyacrylate composite latex materials

A series of polyacrylate latex films with core–shell particle structure and different damping properties were first prepared by seed emulsion polymerization and by adjusting the ratio of soft/hard monomer in the core and shell layers of the latex particles. Higher damping factor (tan δ) was obtained by using styrene that has a bulky side group instead of methyl methacrylate as the hard monomer, and the homogeneous distribution of styrene was critical for improving its damping performance. Epoxy resin/polyacrylate composite latex materials were then prepared based on this pure polyacrylate latex. Pure polyacrylate or epoxy resin/polyacrylate composite latex material with larger tan δ was obtained when acrylic acid or epoxy resin was located in both the core and the shell layers of the latex particles simultaneously, rather than in the core or shell layer only. With increasing content of epoxy resin, the tan δ of the composite latex increased slightly, and the tan δ area (TA) increased significantly, the tan δ peak temperature gradually shifted to lower temperature, and the effective damping temperature range gradually expanded.