The effect of fluorosurfactant, copolymer latex, and cross-linker on the surface properties of floor polishes: An investigation using AFM with adhesion mapping

The performances of three fluorosurfactants of different perfluoroalkyl chain lengths in styrene-butadiene (SB) and styrene-acrylic (SA) latex formulations having different virtual cross-linkers were investigated with atomic force microscopy (AFM). Topographic mapping provided no conclusive relationship with macroscopic observations of floor polish performance (with “performance” being judged by absence of haze and uniformity of flow and leveling.) Adhesion mapping of the film surfaces revealed mesoscale lateral phase separation for the zinc cross-linked SB latex formulations with specific fluorosurfactants, but not for the SA latex formulations with either calcium or zinc cross-linking. FT-IR spectroscopy analysis supports the contention that lateral phase separation occurred due to the formation of a complex between the fluorosurfactant and the zinc cross-linking agent when used in the SB formulations. All three fluorosurfactants successfully flowed and leveled the SA formulation, using either calcium or zinc cross-linking, without the formation of a complex. These experiments present high resolution adhesion maps of latex films that link mesoscopic properties to macroscopic performance of the dried floor polish films.