Preparation of Hollow Microsphere and its Application in Paper Coating

A novel hollow microsphere plastic pigment was prepared by the soap-free seeded emulsion polymerization. This pigment, with polyacrylate as core and with polystyrene as shell (PA/PSt) had hollow structure after dryness. The latex was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), and particle size analysis. The synthetic pigment was applied in the paper coating, and its influence on the printablility of the coated paper was investigated. The results show that the overall properties of the coated paper can be effectively improved when the clay in the base formulation is replaced by a small amount of hollow microsphere plastic pigment.