INTERFACIAL PROPERTIES OF POLYELECTROLYTE-CELLULOSE SYSTEMS .2. ELECTROKINETIC PROPERTIES OF CELLULOSE FIBERS WITH ADSORBED MONOLAYERS OF CATIONIC POLYELECTROLYTE

Zeta potential measurements by the streaming current method were performed on pulp (DP) fibers with or without irreversibly adsorbed monolayers of cationic polyelectrolyte. Factors affecting the electrokinetic properties of these fibers, such as the amount of adsorbed polymer, the polymer molecular weight (Mn 50,000 and 200,000), ionic strength (10−5 ∼ 10−2M KCl), and the pH of the streaming medium (KCl solution), were examined. As the amount of adsorbed polymer increased, the negative zeta potential of the fibers decreased until the polarity of the zeta potential was reversed to the positive side. A marked change in the value of zeta potential was not observed when the formation of the saturated monolayer was completed. The zeta potential also varied in proportion to an increase in the amount of polymer adsorbed. Experimental results are interpreted with reference to the origin of the surface charge, the amphoteric nature of the surface, the modes of adsorption, and the adsorbed polymer chain configuration. Possible effects of the adsorbed monolayer formation on the structural change of the electric double layer at the fiber surface are discussed. It is concluded that the formation of a monolayer of cationic polyelectrolytes on the negatively charged cellulose fibers under the condition of k1 > k2 (part I) provides a means to arbitrarily control the charge of the fibers until formation of a saturated monolayer. Copyright © 1979 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.