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Interactions of PEI (polyethylenimine)–silica particles with citric acid in dispersions

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Abstract

Adsorbed polyethylenimine (PEI) of M w 1,800 and 70,000 on silica (SiO2) dispersions produced flocculated slurry in the pH range of 5 to 12. Adsorbed citrate widens this flocculated pH regime. It also increases the strength of the interparticle attractive force or the yield stress over the pH range of between 3 and 8. The stronger attractive force is due to particle bridging by the citrate anions bonding with positively charge sites of the adsorbed PEI layer of the interacting particles at the closest point of interaction. The higher M w PEI being more strongly attached to the silica particle produced a stronger attractive interparticle force with adsorbed citrate anions. Via charge balance calculation using contributions from SiO2, PEI, and citrate, the pH of zero charge was found to correspond to the pH of zero zeta potential for PEI of M w 70,000. This suggests 100% adsorption of PEI and citrate on SiO2. The bridging interaction was confirmed by a linear relationship between yield stress and the square of the limiting citrate charge content. Adsorbed citrate was found for the first time to play the role of a bridging agent, a result of the positive charges being located on a more flexible adsorbed layer rather than being fixed to a rigid surface.

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Acknowledgment

We wish to thank UWA USF grant for the purchase of the ZetaProbe and acknowledge ARC DP1096528 for the partial support of this model study with the objective of getting a clearer understanding of the effects of these additives in clay slurries. We wish to acknowledge the contribution of the referees in making this a better paper.

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  1. School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, 6009, Australia

    Lavanya Avadiar & Yee-Kwong Leong

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  1. Lavanya Avadiar
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  2. Yee-Kwong Leong
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Correspondence to Yee-Kwong Leong.

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Avadiar, L., Leong, YK. Interactions of PEI (polyethylenimine)–silica particles with citric acid in dispersions. Colloid Polym Sci 289, 237–245 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-010-2351-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-010-2351-2

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