Role of sequential adsorption of polymer/surfactant mixtures and their conformation in dispersion/flocculation of alumina

The role of sequential adsorption of a non-interacting pair of polymer (polyacrylic acidPAA) and surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate-SDS) on alumina particles and in determining the stability of their suspensions was studied with particular attention to the conformation of the polymer. It was found that the sequence of addition is of critical importance in determining the dispersion/flocculation of this system. When SDS was added first, both PAA conformation and suspension stability varied with SDS concentration. Whereas when PAA was added first, the subsequent adsorption of SDS molecules had no effect on either the polymer conformation or the suspension stability. This is attributed to masking of SDS species by the larger polymer chains. SDS can not however be completely masked by PAA chains once the PAA concentration is decreased below the optimal concentration for flocculation. When the stirring duration was increased, the mode of addition showed no effect suggesting that the system then reaches equilibrium. Interestingly, a small amount of pre-adsorbed PAA was found to facilitate the adsorption of SDS. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.