Abstract
The deposition of layers of different polycations (synthetic or derived from natural, renewable resources) onto oppositely charged surfaces has been studied using ellipsometry and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D). Information about the thickness of the deposited layers and their water content was ascertained. The adsorption of the different polycations onto negatively charged surfaces was found to be a complex process, which is influenced by the chemical nature of the polymer chains, ionic strength, polymer concentration and the addition of additives such as surfactants. The experimental picture shows a good agreement with theoretical calculations performed using the Self-Consistent Mean Field (SCF) approach. The results show that the electrostatically-driven deposition can be tuned by modifying the physico-chemical properties of the solutions and the chemical nature of the adsorbed polymer. This versatile approach is a big step forward in aiding the design of new polymers for many industrial applications and, in particular, the design of sustainable washing formulations for cosmetic applications.
Highlights
Polyelectrolyte coatings are important in many technological applications, such as the stabilization of colloidal dispersions, the fabrication of antifouling coatings, the performance of shampoos and conditioning formulations in cosmetics, or the modification of the wettability of separation membranes [1,2,3,4]
The validity of this approach was proven in our previous work, where the adsorption of charged polyelectrolytes onto thiol-decorated gold electrodes, and electrodes coated with a silica layer similar to that of the plates used in ellipsometry, was found to be similar [9]
Understanding the deposition of polyelectrolyte layers requires an appreciation of the reversibility of the adsorption process
Summary
Polyelectrolyte coatings are important in many technological applications, such as the stabilization of colloidal dispersions, the fabrication of antifouling coatings, the performance of shampoos and conditioning formulations in cosmetics, or the modification of the wettability of separation membranes [1,2,3,4]. These variables may be tuned by changing the different physico-chemical parameters of the solution, including pH, ionic strength or temperature, that independently affect the solubility of the polyelectrolyte [14,23,24,25,26] Other parameters, such as the chemical nature of the polyelectrolytes, the chain flexibility and molecular weight, solution concentration and the presence of surfactants, are very important for controlling the adsorption of polyelectrolytes onto oppositely charged surfaces [14,24,27,28,29]. A detailed understanding of the impact of polyelectrolyte charge density (polymer cationicity), concentration, the ionic strengths of the polyelectrolyte solutions and the addition of surfactants into the adsorption process is essential for designing polyelectrolyte coatings with controlled structures and physico-chemical properties [18,19,30]. This study demonstrates the potential of such an approach in the design of new polymers for industrial products and, in particular, the design of sustainable polymers for cosmetic formulations
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