Colloidal particles dispersed in water, so-called nanolatexes, have been used in both research and industry for decades. Hitherto, they are mainly produced via emulsion polymerization, where surface active agents, i.e. surfactants, are used for the stabilization of the hydrophobic core. However, the lack of covalent bonding between the surfactant and the hydrophobic polymer can lead to unfavorable effects such as the migration of the former. Nowadays, controlled radical polymerization techniques have also been employed for the synthesis of the aforementioned colloids. Specifically, reversible addition−fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT)-mediated polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) in water has exhibited great versatility on the final chemistry and properties of the nanolatexes. Therefore, they can act as model systems, since the final properties can be tuned on-demand. Previously in our group, charged nanolatexes have been successfully used in the compatibilization of cellulose and cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) in coating and composite applications. However, there is a lack of an in-depth understanding of the key parameters that dominate their adsorption on these layers. In this work, charged nanolatexes synthesized through RAFT-mediated PISA with varying surface charge density and dimensions were adsorbed onto cellulose model surfaces (Fig. 1). Their adsorption was monitored by stagnation point absorption reflectometry (SPAR) and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D).

Investigating the adsorption of charged nanolatexes onto cellulose model surfaces

ACS Spring 2022

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