| abstract |
The present invention relates to a method comprising an aqueous dispersion of polymer particles having a backbone comprising structural units of an acrylate monomer and a carboxylic acid monomer, wherein a portion of the structural units of the carboxylic acid monomer are functionalized with glycidyl methacrylate, wherein the glycidyl methacrylate functionalized polymer particles have a number average molecular weight in the range of 5,000 to 50,000 Daltons. The composition of the present invention provides a UV curable coating that achieves an excellent balance of hardness and flexibility, with less reliance on the use of multifunctional acrylates. |