Adsorption of Polyacrylate Latex on Wool

Abstract

The adsorption of a polyacrylate emulsion, Primal K-3, onto wool fibers, promoted by a water soluble, cationic polymer, Hercosett 57, has been studied under various conditions of pH and temperature. Adsorption was observed only under conditions where the latex coagulated, and then only when the latex particles and the fibers were not similarly charged. Depending on the pH of the system and the concentration of the cationic polymer, negatively-charged latex particles could be adsorbed onto positively-charged fibers and vice versa. Measurements of electrophoretic mobility indicated that the main function of the cationic polymer was to destabilize the emulsion by neutralizing the charge on the particles