Adsorption behavior of poly(dimethyl-diallylammonium chloride) on pulp fiber studied by cryo-time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry and cryo-scanning electron microscopy

In this study, the adsorption behavior of poly(dimethyl-diallylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC), a retention agent used in papermaking, in a dual polymer system with anionic poly(acrylamide) (A-PAM) was investigated by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). Initially, fragment structures and cleavage patterns were identified via TOF-SIMS experiments with deuterium-labeled PDADMAC and the unlabeled analogue. Visualization of PDADMAC on a dry handsheet surface using traditional TOF-SIMS analysis indicated that the electrostatic interaction between coagulated PDADMAC and A-PAM was relatively weak. A novel cryo-TOF-SIMS/SEM system enabled the evaluation of a wet handsheet containing PDADMAC. Analysis of this sample indicated that PDADMAC adsorbs onto the fiber surface and collects preferentially on the tangled fibrils located between fibers. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.