Alkali-soluble resins (ASRs) were prepared by (i) solution and (ii) emulsion polymerization. All ASRs were synthesized with number-average molar masses < 20,000 g mol-1 and all had 15 wt% methacrylic acid 5 wt% styrene, the remaining 80 wt% was composed of either methyl methacrylate or a combination of methyl methacrylate and ethyl acrylate. All emulsion ASRs were made to 20% solids, with volume-average particle diameters (dv) in the region 30 – 50 nm, with a glass transition temperature of 80 – 120 °C. Emulsion polymerization was the preferred route for ASR synthesis, to allow further studies on their dissolution behaviour. Before their use as colloidal stabilizers, the dissolution behaviour of the ASRs needed to beinvestigated e.g. effect of temperature, molar mass, and composition. Particle size and absorbance measurements were taken during dissolution of ASRs to achieve 100%neutralization and these were shown to have two stages, an apparent particle swelling (whichwas rapid), and a slower, decrease in particle size as water-soluble polymeric material wasdiffusing out of the ASR particles. From this, further interpretation allowed for calculating the diffusion coefficient of the ASR polymer using the Stokes-Einstein equation. Time-domain nuclear magnetic resonance (TD-NMR) was employed to enhance understanding of what is occurring in the ASR particles, and in the aqueous, continuous phase. The final aspect of this project was to use the ASRs prepared as colloidal stabilizers in emulsion polymerizations of butyl acrylate (BA) and butyl methacrylate (BMA) using varying levels and also the effect of adding additional surfactant. The results show that the effect of ASR molar mass, the concentration of stabilizer, and also the impact of the EA-containing ASR greatly influence stability, whereby lower ASR molar mass, higher levels of stabilizer and including EA greatly benefit colloidal stability in PBA latexes. In PBMA latexes, a similar trend was also observed, but, the presence of ethyl acrylate (EA) in the ASR backbone has a detrimental effect on the colloidal stability, caused by the inability of grafting to occur between the ASR and PBMA.

Emulsion polymerizations of vinyl acetate (VAc) were performed by fully or partially replacing poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with renewable materials as protective colloids or by adding renewable materials, as additives or fillers, to the emulsions during or after polymerization. The purpose of the study was to increase the amount of renewable materials in the emulsion. A total of 19 emulsions were synthesized. Different recipes were used for the synthesis. The following renewable materials were studied; hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) with different molecular weights, starch and proteins. HEC and starch were used as protective colloids. Proteins were used as additives or fillers. Cross-linking agent A and Cross-linking agent B were used as cross-linking agents. A total of 26 formulations were pressed, either cold or hot. The synthesized emulsions were evaluated with respect to pH, solids content, viscosity, minimum film formation temperature (MFFT), glass transition temperature (Tg), particle size and molecular weight (Mw). The tensile shear strengths of the emulsions were evaluated according to EN 204 and WATT 91. It was possible to fully, or partially, replace PVA as protective colloid with renewable materials. It was also possible to use renewable materials as additives or fillers in the emulsions. The emulsions obtained properties that differed from the reference. Generally, emulsions with HEC as protective colloid showed lower viscosity and slightly higher MFFT, Tg and molecular weight than emulsions with PVA as protective colloid. Larger particle sizes than the reference were obtained for emulsions containing PVA combined with renewable materials. The emulsion with starch as protective colloid exhibited the largest particle size. 10 formulations passed the criteria for D2. The emulsions where PVA was fully or partially replaced with HEC or starch showed a water resistance similar to the reference (around D2). The addition of protein did not decrease the water and heat resistance compared to the reference. Addition of protein after polymerization increased the water resistance (D2) compared to addition during polymerization. Addition of cross-linking agents did not increase the water resistance further. Two formulations passed the criteria for D3. The emulsion in the first formulation had PVA as protective colloid and protein B was added during polymerization. The emulsion in the second formulation had HEC as protective colloid. To both of these emulsions, protein A was added after polymerization, as a filler, combined with Cross-linking agent B as cross-linking agent before hot pressing. The first formulation also showed a good heat resistance (passed the criteria for WATT 91).