Stabilization of carbon black particles with Cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide in aqueous media

• Stable aqueous carbon black dispersions prepared by wet milling using CTAB.
• Volume mean particle size of about 100 nm achieved.
• Adsorbed monolayer of CTAB on the particles acts as electrosteric stabilizer.
• Extended DLVO-calculations agree qualitatively with observed colloidal stability.

The stabilization mechanism of aqueous carbon black suspensions by Cetyltrimethylammoniumbromide (CTAB) is studied in this paper. The adsorption of the surfactant CTAB on the carbon black particles was investigated on dried samples by thermogravimetric analyses (TGA), nitrogen adsorption and attenuated total reflection Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) as well as in suspension by zeta potential measurements and atomic force microscopy. The particles are stabilized by an adsorbed CTAB monolayer as can be concluded from the results of TGA and of AFM investigations using a liquid cell. Extended DLVO calculations including the steric contribution of CTAB reveal that carbon particles with an adsorbed monolayer of CTAB exhibit sufficient colloidal stability. This result is in qualitative agreement with the experimental results.

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