Polyvinyl acetate emulsion (latex) as stiffening agent

Manufacturer: We are manufacturer from Europe. Besides using latex (both natural and synthetic), we are also using Polyvinyl acetate (PVac) as a binding agent for textiles and felt etc. Our aim is to increase the body and stiffness of the textiles. Can use advise us on the choice of the right grade of PVac?

John Woon (Senior Latex Consultant): Some Polyvinyl acetate emulsions (or rather latex) are plasticized either externally or internally through copolymerization with one or more different monomers. For maximum stiffness you should select one that is not plasticized or only lightly plasticized. Also, emulsion with coarser particle size would have more stiffening effect than those with finer particle size.

For your application, usually a low solid content is required. Hence the emulsion you select should have good colloidal stability on addition of water.

It might interest you to know that PVac emulsion with coarser particle size also tend to have better freeze-thaw stability especially when the polymer has a relatively higher molecular weight while the plasticizer content is not too high.

Having said that, you could also consider using PVac as a stiffening and reinforcing agent for your natural rubber latex.

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