There has been a high interest in so-called mussel-inspired polymers during the last decade. These new polymers carry catechol groups that can mimic the ultrastrong adhesion properties of proteins secreted by marine mussels to different oxidic surfaces, including TiO2-surfaces even under harsh marine environments (slightly alkaline, shear forces from tides, etc.). TiO2 is a broadly used, but a high cost pigment in the paper manufacture process, in order to adjust important optical properties of specialty papers (e.g., opacity). Because of its characteristic agglomeration behavior, to date a number of different additives are required to get an acceptable cost-quality output. Here we describe a completely novel attempt to use mussel-inspired, charged and non charged, copolymers to effect the retention, adhesion and distribution of TiO2 particles in the paper. Our results show that the beforementioned properties strongly depend on charge density, molar mass and chemical composition (i.e., degree of catechol-substitution) of the polymers.

Mussel-inspired polymers for paper making

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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