Distinct dispersion stability of various TiO2 nanopowders using ammonium polyacrylate as dispersant

The dispersion stabilities of three titania (TiO2) nanopowders with different particle sizes and surface chemistries in aqueous suspensions containing a common water-based dispersant, ammonium polyacrylate (PAA-NH4), have been investigated and compared. According to adsorption isotherm and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses, the adsorption conformations of PAA-NH4 are distinct for the different TiO2 nanopowders. In addition, PAA-NH4 exhibited the greatest adsorption affinity to the larger, hydrophilic TiO2 nanopowder and the least affinity to smaller, hydrophobic nanopowder. From sedimentation and rheological results, the dispersion stability of the larger, hydrophilic TiO2 nanopowder was demonstrated to be the greatest. Based on thermodynamic and kinetic calculations for the stabilization energies, the larger, hydrophilic TiO2 nanopowder was also shown to be the best-stabilized powder, although it settles faster than the smaller, hydrophilic TiO2 nanopowder; this is due to the greater affection of sedimentation flux on the larger nanopowder. In contrast, the hydrophobic TiO2 nanopowder formed a gel-like structure in the aqueous suspension when the solid content was greater than 10 wt%, which is attributed to polymer bridging between PAA-NH4-adsorbed TiO2 nanoparticles.