Kinetics of polyelectrolyte adsorption on cellulosic fibers

The present investigation has been focused on studying the adsorption of three different molecular mass fractions of a polydimethyldiallylammonium chloride (DMDAAC) (8750 (LMw), 48 000 (MMw), and 1 200 000 (HMw)) on bleached chemical fibers. Both kinetics of adsorption and equilibrium adsorption measurements have been conducted, and the adsorption has been measured by polyelectrolyte titration. The results show that the LMw polymer can reach all the charges in the fiber wall whereas the MMw and HMw can only reach the charges on the external surfaces of the fibers. It is also shown that the kinetics of adsorption of the LMw polymer is not at all affected by the presence of a saturated layer of HMw polymer on the surface of the fibers. Finally the results from the investigation show that it is possible to have a full coverage of the external surface of the fibers by a high molecular mass polymer and a full coverage of the internal surface of the fibers with a low molecular mass polymer provided that the high molecular mass polymer is adsorbed before addition of the low molecular mass polymer. This is true if the polymers are adsorbed to the same type of groups on the fibers. A simplistic model for describing ployelectrolyte adsorption in turbulent flow also shows good agreement with measured values for the low molecular mass polyelectrolyte whereas the agreement for the high molecular polyelectrolyte is not as good. For the high molecular mass polyelectrolyte a more sophisticated model is needed.