Advanced colloidal techniques for characterization of the effect of electrosteric dispersant on the colloidal stability of nanocrystalline ZrO2 suspension

Abstract

The adsorption state and dispersion effect of an anionic polyelectrolyte (Dolapix CE64) dispersant on the stability of nanocrystalline ZrO2 suspensions are studied by using adsorption isotherms, sedimentation, TGA, electrokinetic sonic amplitude (ESA) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) techniques. It was found that colloidal stability and surface properties of aqueous ZrO2 suspension are closely related to coverage distribution of polyelectrolyte as a function of pH on nanocrystalline ZrO2 particle surface. The amount of polyelectrolyte adsorbed on nanocrystalline ZrO2 particle surface increases greatly with decreasing pHiep (pH 3.72) and increasing the polymer concentration. The results obtained from electroacoustic (ESA) technique and AES spectra of polyelectrolyte adsorbed on nanocrystalline ZrO2 surface proved that both techniques are very effective ways to measure the distribution state of polyelectrolyte on nanocrystalline ceramic powder and reveal how the distribution affect the stability of the suspension. It was found that stabilization can be achieved only when conditions of both Dolapix CE64 ionization and ZrO2 surface coverage are satisfied, suggesting an electrosteric stabilization mechanism. In conclusion, we hypothesized a stabilization model according to the model of two particles approaching to describe the influence of the adsorbed anionic polyelectrolyte configuration on particle surface and the stability of nanocrystalline ZrO2 suspensions.