Reverse iodine transfer polymerization of an ethylenically unsaturated monomer comprising (meth)acrylic acid, salt thereof, or combination thereof, in the presence of a radical polymerization initiator, an oxidant, an iodide salt, and a solvent, is a useful method for making (meth)acrylic acid polymers. The amounts of components utilized can be 5 to 500 equivalents of the ethylenically unsaturated monomer comprising (meth)acrylic acid, salt thereof, or combination thereof, in the presence of 1 to 3 equivalents of the radical polymerization initiator, 0.2 to 1 equivalent of the oxidant, and 1 equivalent of the iodide salt. (Meth)acrylic acid polymer solutions are made by these methods. The (meth)acrylic polymers are useful as dispersants.

The wet adhesion of a coating composition may be improved through the use of voided latex particles as opacifying agents which contain a hollow interior as well as an outer shell of a polymer containing functional groups such as amino, 1,3-diketo, urea or ureido. Other types of functional groups may be introduced to the outer shell polymer in order to vary other desired characteristics of the coating. The voided latex particles are non-film-forming.

The invention pertains to certain perfluorinated thermoplastic elastomers suitable for being processed through additive manufacturing techniques, thanks to their surprising ability to possess better processability (notably more significant shear thinning at processability temperature) than corresponding perfluorinated thermoplasts, which possess similar product profile and hence performances, offering hence advantages in throughput and part design accurate control, containment of degradation, reduction of fumes, and yet delivering parts with outstanding chemical resistance.

Iodine transfer radical polymerization of an ethylenically unsaturated monomer comprising (meth)acrylic acid, salt thereof, or combination thereof, in the presence of a radical polymerization initiator, an organoiodide, and a solvent, is a useful method for making (meth)acrylic acid polymers. The amounts of components utilized can be 2 to 100 equivalents of acrylic acid and 2 to 100 equivalents of sodium acrylate, both dissolved in water to form a 15 to 50 weight percent solution, based on the total weight of the acrylic acid, sodium acrylate, and water; 0.05 to 1 equivalent of an azo polymerization initiator, 1 equivalent of an organoiodide; and 0 to 3 equivalents of an iodide salt. (Meth)acrylic acid polymer solutions are made by these methods. The (meth)acrylic polymers are useful as dispersants.

Reverse iodine transfer polymerization of an ethylenically unsaturated monomer comprising (meth)acrylic acid, salt thereof, or combination thereof, in the presence of a radical polymerization initiator, an oxidant, an iodide salt, and a solvent, is a useful method for making (meth)acrylic acid polymers. The amounts of components utilized can be 5 to 500 equivalents of the ethylenically unsaturated monomer comprising (meth)acrylic acid, salt thereof, or combination thereof, in the presence of 1 to 3 equivalents of the radical polymerization initiator, 0.2 to 1 equivalent of the oxidant, and 1 equivalent of the iodide salt. (Meth)acrylic acid polymer solutions are made by these methods. The (meth)acrylic polymers are useful as dispersants.

A method for synthesizing a polymer/pigment hybrid latex through sulfur-free and soap-free in-situ reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) emulsion copolymerization includes the following: dispersing a pigment with a reactive emulsifier to prepare a pigment dispersion; synthesizing an amphiphilic sulfur-free ω-vinyl-terminated polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) macromolecular RAFT agent in-situ on a surface of pigment particles through catalytic chain transfer polymerization (CCTP); and adding an acrylate monomer dropwise, allowing in-situ sulfur-free RAFT polymerization on a surface of pigment particles through the RAFT agent, and adjusting a structure and a composition of an encapsulated polymer layer to obtain a series of uniformly encapsulated and stably dispersed polymer/organic pigment hybrid latexes. The new hybrid latex prepared through sulfur-free and soap-free in-situ RAFT emulsion copolymerization has the characteristics of high dispersion stability, high pigment encapsulation efficiency, clear encapsulated polymer layer sequence, controllable structure, etc., which is suitable for surface encapsulation modification of various pigments.

The present invention relates to a random copolymer comprising repeat units of structure (I), (II), (III), and (IV). The invention also pertains to a neutral layer composition comprised of said random copolymer and also pertains to the use of said neutral layer composition to make a crosslinked neutral layer film on a substrate, which can enable self-assembly of a film of a block copolymer overlying said crosslinked neutral layer, wherein said block copolymer contains etch resistant and etchable block, and whose self-assembled pattern is used, through etching, to create either an array of contact holes or posts in said substrate.

##STR00001##

A process for anionically polymerizing a (meth)acrylic acid in the presence of a tertiary organoaluminum compound (A), an organolithium compound (B) and at least one kind of a Lewis base (C) in a polymerization system. The tertiary organoaluminum compound (A) includes a tertiary organoaluminum compound (A1) having a chemical structure in which at least two of three unshared electrons of an aluminum atom are bonded to an aromatic ring via an oxygen atom, and the tertiary organoaluminum compound (A) has a molar ratio (A2)/(A1) in the range of 0% or above and 0.8% or below between a tertiary organoaluminum compound (A2) having a chemical structure in which at most one of three unshared electrons of an aluminum atom is bonded to an aromatic ring via an oxygen atom, and the tertiary organoaluminum compound (A1).

The present invention is directed to a functionalized polymerization initiator, comprising the reaction product of an alkyl lithium compound and a compound of formula 1 ##STR00001## wherein R.sub.1=alkyl (C1-C8), aryl, substituted aryl, or —SiR.sub.3 where R.sub.3 are independently C1-C8 alkyl, preferably —SiMe.sub.3 where Me is methyl, or —Si(CH.sub.3).sub.2C(CH.sub.3).sub.3; R.sub.2=C1-C8 alkyl, aryl, or substituted aryl, or —SiR.sub.3, preferably —CH.sub.3; and n=0-3. The invention is further directed to a method of making the functionalized inititiator, and a method of making a functionalized elastomer using the inititator.

Crosslink-forming monomers, comprising reverse-acrylate groups, and crosslinked polymer networks formed by the polymerization of monomers that comprise said reverse-acrylate crosslink-forming monomers. Crosslink-forming monomers, comprising reverse-acrylate groups, comprising an alkyl, an aryl, an alkoxyl, and an alkylamino group bridging one or more reverse-acrylate groups. Crosslink-forming monomers, comprising reverse-acrylate groups, comprising an alkyl, an aryl, an alkoxyl, and an alkylamino ester groups. Crosslink-forming monomers, comprising reverse-acrylate groups, comprising alkyl groups where the group is selected from the group consisting of a methyl, an ethyl, a propyl, an n-butyl and a t-butyl. Reverse-acrylate crosslink-forming monomers comprise a chemical structure where the two or more polymerizable carbon-carbon double bonds are connected by a crosslinking group on the opposite side of the hydrolysable ester groups relative to normal crosslinking acrylate monomers. The crosslink-forming monomers herein form crosslinked polymer networks that do not lose their crosslinking upon hydrolysis of the ester linkages.