Emulsion Polymerization and Emulsion Polymers Edited by Peter A. Lovell Manchester Materials Science Centre, UMIST, Manchester, UK and Mohamed S. El-Aasser Emulsion Polymers Institute and Department of Chemical Engineering, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA Emulsion polymerization is a technologically and commercially important reaction used to produce synthetic polymers and latexes for a wide range of applications. It is the basis of a massive global industry that is expanding due to the versatility of the reaction and the greater realization of the ability to control properties of the...

It is particularly appropriate that this symposium on the emulsion polymeriza- tion of vinyl acetate was held in recognition of the industrial importance of poly(vinyl acetate) and vinyl acetate copolymers, and their rather unique properties among emulsion polymers in general. Poly( vinyl acetate) latexes were the first synthetic polymer latexes to be made on a commercial scale: their production using polyvinyl alcohol as emulsifier began in Germany during the mid-1930s and has continued to the present day, growing steadily with the years. Indeed, poly(vinyl acetate) latexes prepared with...