Title: polymer colloid
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - polymer colloid
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.14313
Status: current

Definition
Colloidal dispersion in which at least one of the phases is a polymer, either organic, or inorganic or some combination of the two.

Notes
1) The term "polymer colloid" is more general than latex. In a latex the dispersed phase is always a polymer, whereas in a polymer colloid this need not be so.
2) Particles of a liquid or a gas dispersed in a polymer, particles comprising "empty" shells made of polymers, and aerosols of polymer particles are all known examples.

Related Term
- dispersed phase: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/14307

Source
- PAC, 2011, 83, 2229. 'Terminology of polymers and polymerization processes in dispersed systems (IUPAC Recommendations 2011)' on page 2237 (https://doi.org/10.1351/PAC-REC-10-06-03)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14313/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14313/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/14313/xml

Citation: Citation: 'polymer colloid' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.14313
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Accessed: 2026-07-26T11:29:51+00:00