Polyelectrolyte complex dispersions with a high colloidal stability controlled by the polyion structure and titrant addition rate

Three ionic/nonionic random copolymers of sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate (AMPS) with either t-butyl acrylamide (TBA) or methyl methacrylate (MM), were used in the preparation of some polyelectrolyte complex dispersions (PCD) with two strong polycations of integral type, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC), and an ionene type polycation, containing 95 mol% N,N-dimethyl-2-hydroxypropyleneammonium chloride repeat units (PCA5). The novelty of the paper is that PCDs with a high colloidal stability, both before and after the complex stoichiometry, were obtained even with hydrophilic/hydrophobic polyanions, with a high titrant addition rate (TAR), a less explored parameter, which allows a fine control of PCDs aggregation level, in salt-free aqueous solutions. The characteristics of PCDs were also correlated with the polyanion average charge density and the structure of the nonionic comonomer, at a constant TAR, the polyanion with the lowest charge density leading to the highest turbidities and the lowest colloidal stabilities. A mechanism of the PCDs colloidal stabilization as a function of TAR was suggested in the paper.