Self-supported elastomeric film having self-healing properties made from a polymer latex

A self-supported elastomeric film made from a composition comprising polymer latex particles bearing ethylenically unsaturated groups pending from the polymeric backbone of the latex particles wherein the ethylenic unsaturation is separated from the polymeric backbone by at least 3 chemical bonds,

• wherein the polymer latex particles are made by aqueous emulsion polymerization of a mixture of ethylenically unsaturated monomers comprising:
• a) monomers selected from conjugated dienes, mono ethylenically unsaturated monomers having no functional groups that can be subsequently reacted after formation of the latex particles to introduce ethylenically unsaturated groups and combinations thereof;
• and
• b) ii) mono ethylenically unsaturated monomers having functional groups that can be subsequently reacted after formation of the latex particles to introduce ethylenically unsaturated groups;
• and
• i) optionally monomers having at least two non-conjugated ethylenically unsaturated groups that exhibit different reactivities in the aqueous emulsion polymerization, wherein at least a portion of the ethylenically unsaturated groups having the lower reactivity remains unreacted after termination of the aqueous emulsion polymerization;
• and/or
• c) optionally monomers having at least two non-conjugated ethylenically unsaturated groups different from bi),
• thereby forming polymer latex particles bearing a first functional group originating from the functional group of monomers bii);
• and
• subsequently reacting the polymer latex particles bearing the first functional group with an ethylenically unsaturated compound having in addition to the ethylenically unsaturation a second functional group that is reactive with the first functional group.