N-butyl acrylate, acrylic amide, 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate, methacrylic acid, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, ally! methacrylate, glycidyl methacrylate, and ethylene dimethacrylic glycol monomers (Table 1) were emulsion-polymerized at 60degreesC with (NH4)(2)S2O8 dosed every 15 min for 3 h as initiator and with (Table 2) or without (1:1 w/w) Na kerylbenzenesulfonate-oxyethylenated lauryl alcohol (Rokanol L-10) as surfactant (Table 3) at 70-75degreesC for a total of 6-7 h. The resulting latexes were cooled and filtered through cotton. Their polymer contents (gravimetrically), surface tension (du Nouy tensiometer), viscosities (Ub-belohde viscometer: relative eta, reduced eta(zr), intrinsic [eta], and Huggins constant k(H)), specific (kappa) and equivalent (lambda) conductance (Radelkis OK/102/1), visible coagulation threshold (g Fe3+/g polymer by conductometric titration with aq. 0.0338 g/mL Fe(NO3)(3)) were measured, and the relative hardness and resistance to water (60degreesC) of the membranes made from these latexes were determined. The latexes showing lowest surface tensions, lowest[eta], highest positive k(H), highest lambda, and highest coagulation thresholds were best. The surfactant enhanced latex particle hydrophilicity, and k(H). and coagulation threshold. Curing mechanisms underlying the formation of membranes, suggested to involve reactions of carboxylic with hydroxyl groups, double bonds, hydroxyl with glicydyl, carboxylic with glicydyl, and hydroxyl with amino groups, are believed to yield the hardest membranes, most resistant to water Hildebrand's solubility parameters (delta) evaluated for curing linkages are optimum at 9.0-13.0 (arithmetic mean of monomer delta's).