Aqueous dispersion opacifying pigment-binder hybrid polymer particles

A composition comprising an aqueous dispersion of:

• a) multistage polymer particles comprising 1) a water-occluded core comprising from 20 to 60 weight percent structural units of a salt of a carboxylic acid monomer and from 40 to 80 weight percent structural units of a nonionic monoethylenically unsaturated monomer;
• 2) a polymeric shell having a Tg in the range of from 60° C. and 120° C., wherein the polymeric shell comprises at least 80 weight percent structural units of styrene;
• and 3) a polymeric binder layer superposing the shell, which polymeric binder layer has a Tg of not greater than 35° C. and comprises structural units of at least one monoethylenically unsaturated monomer;
• b) opacifying inorganic pigment particles;
• and
• c) a water-soluble dispersant absorbed onto the surfaces of the opacifying inorganic pigment particles;
• wherein the weight-to-weight ratio of the polymeric binder to the sum of the shell and the structural units of monomers in the core in the multistage polymer particles is in the range of 1:1 to 3.5:1;
• and
• the z-average particle size of the multistage polymer particles is in the range of from 400 nm to 600 nm;
• wherein the water-soluble dispersant comprises from 50 to 80 weight percent structural units of a sulfonic acid monomer or a salt thereof and less than 30 weight percent structural units of acrylic acid or methacrylic acid, based on the weight of the water-soluble dispersant, wherein the sulfonic acid monomer is 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid or a salt thereof, vinyl sulfonic acid or a salt thereof, 2-sulfoethyl acrylate, 2-sulfoethyl methacrylate, 3-sulfopropyl acrylate, 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate, sodium styrene sulfonate, or 2-propene-1-sulfonic acid or a salt thereof;
• and the water-soluble dispersant has an Mw of from 1000 to 8000 g/mol,
• wherein the concentration of the water-soluble dispersant is in the range of from 0.1 to 5 weight percent, based on the weight of the dispersant and the inorganic pigment particles.