Interaction of binders with dispersant stabilised alumina suspensions

The rheological response of selected aqueous alumina suspensions, stabilised with a polyelectrolyte or with an organic polyvalent salt dispersant, and including poly(vinyl) alcohol (PVA) as a binder, are described in this study. The polymer dispersant was composed of an ammonium salt of poly(methacrylate) and the organic polyvalent compound was a sodium salt of an aromatic sulphate. The results show that the addition of PVA, without any included dispersant does not significantly influence the rheology of the system. However, in the presence of a dispersant the rheology is greatly affected. At a given concentration of the dispersant, the viscosity, storage and loss moduli all increase, as the PVA concentration is increased. Also, for a given concentration of the PVA, it is observed that the viscosity, storage and loss moduli values increase as the concentration of the dispersant is increased. It is argued that at low PVA concentrations, an excess concentration of the unadsorbed dispersant causes flocculation of the particles in the suspension by a reduction of the repulsive electrostatic (double layer) effect. In contrast, at higher concentrations of the PVA the flocculation of the suspension is promoted via a depletion mechanism.