Collection: Liants et médiums acryliques

An acrylic dispersion (often called an acrylic polymer emulsion) is essentially microscopic particles of solid plastic suspended in water.

It is the foundational "glue" or binder used to make acrylic paints, mediums, primers, and varnishes. In the bottle, it looks like a milky white liquid, but once the water evaporates, those plastic particles melt together to form a clear, flexible, and waterproof film.

How Are They Made? (Emulsion Polymerization)

The manufacturing process is a complex chemical reaction called emulsion polymerization. It begins with a mixture of water, acrylic monomers (the raw, oil-like chemical building blocks of plastic), and surfactants, which act essentially as industrial soaps. Because oil and water do not naturally mix, the surfactants serve as an emulsifier, forcing the liquid monomer to break apart into billions of microscopic droplets suspended uniformly throughout the water. Next, a chemical catalyst—known as an initiator—is added to the tank. This triggers a rapid reaction, causing the liquid monomer molecules inside each droplet to link together into long, solid chains. As a result, the liquid droplets are transformed into microscopic, solid spheres of acrylic resin. The final liquid appears milky because those billions of solid spheres scatter light. By slightly altering the types of monomers used at the beginning of the process, chemists can custom-design the final plastic to dry rock-hard, super flexible, glossy, or matte.