Abstract
The average mass and size characteristics of ageing laponite/MgCl2 and laponite/MgCl2/polyacrylic acid were determined in aqueous dispersions at pH 10 using a Coulter counter and laser diffractometry methods. Comparison between mass and size characteristics showed the two systems to temporarily acquire a structure where particles are more densely packed. The relatively higher packing observed for laponite/polymer was attributed to conformational changes of the polymer adsorbed on neighbouring surfaces. Analysis of the reduced mass and size distribution functions confirmed the self-similarity of the distributions. The reduced mass frequency continuously decreased, while the reduced size frequency showed a linear decrease combined with bell-shaped populations. The volume packing observed for the laponite/polymer was attributed to a typical class of aggregates of large size, which was present at the maximal concentration in the bell-shaped distribution.
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Received: 19 February 2001 Accepted: 6 April 2001
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Olivier, E., Pefferkorn, E. Aggregation of laponite in the presence of magnesium ions and polyacrylic acid. Colloid Polym Sci 279, 1104–1111 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s003960100537
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s003960100537