Abstract
Wide usage of clay-based materials in industry requires investigations concerning efficient modification techniques to control their mechanical behavior in aqueous media. The challenging problem in this field involves minimization of the modifying agent content to provide marked changes in the operating characteristics of the material. In this work, the physicochemical, mechanical and structural aspects of the interaction of capillary water-saturated kaolinite with polyelectrolytes were studied. Modification of kaolinite with a negligible amount (0.1 wt.%) of hydrophilic and amphiphilic polyelectrolytes provides the control for rheological parameters of kaolinite suspensions such as storage and loss modulus in the range of three orders of magnitude. The results obtained reveal the wide possibilities for the production of a spectrum of clay materials using minor amounts of polymer modifying agents.
Highlights
Aluminosilicates—kaolinite, montmorillonite, bentonite, etc.—are widely used in composites and constructions, oil/gas, the paint and paper industry, cosmetology and pharmaceutics as well as materials for 3D printing and artwork [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]
For kaolinite–potassium humates (PHum) samples, aqueous solutions of anionic PHum were added to an kaolinite aqueous suspension, clay–PHum conjugates were centrifuged, and a content of PHum in solution was detected spectrophotometrically
Kaolinite–PDADMAC samples were prepared by mixing of clay suspension and aqueous PDADMAC solution
Summary
Aluminosilicates—kaolinite, montmorillonite, bentonite, etc.—are widely used in composites and constructions, oil/gas, the paint and paper industry, cosmetology and pharmaceutics as well as materials for 3D printing and artwork [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Wellpronounced water sorption by clay-based materials results in their structural transformations and marked changes in rheological behavior. Physicochemical and structural aspects of complexation of kaolinite with polyelectrolytes (PEs) are discussed to provide the efficient control for the rheological characteristics of the resulting material with the minor amount of modifier. The complexation was performed with cationic water-soluble poly (diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) and anionic amphiphilic potassium humates (PHum), the latter contained condensed aromatic and heterocyclic rings and peripheral carboxylic groups [12]. The amphiphilic nature of humates determined their nano-sized compact structure with external anionic groups exposed to water. Inter-polyelectrolyte complexes, products of electrostatic interaction between PDADMAC and PHum, were used whose amphiphilicity was given by hydrophobic fragments represented by mutually neutralized. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
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