Direct Synthesis of Fractal Polymer Dispersions by Miniemulsion Polymerization

Fractal colloids, which find applications in the preparation of advanced materials, are currently synthesized by means of a multistep procedure that yields a low solids content dispersion. This is not well suited for certain applications such as superhydrophobic coatings. In this work, a one-step method for the synthesis of higher solids content waterborne fractal polymer dispersions is presented and it is shown that the surfaces obtained from the fractal dispersions are superhydrophobic (contact angle, θ > 150°) which is beyond the current waterborne coating technology (θ = 130°–137°). This opens the possibility for the large-scale production of waterborne superhydrophobic coatings.