Surface Modification of Zirconium Oxide Particles with Charged Polymers

The surface modification of ZrO 2 particles with quaternized polyvinylimidazole derivatives has been characterized using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy and ζ potential measurements. Infrared spectroscopy has been used to determine the adsorbed polymer content. Both the absorbance and the Kubelka−Munk intensities vary linearly with the adsorbed polymer content on the support. ζ potential measurements have been used to study the charge variation of the modified zirconia particles and show that the adsorbed polymer on ZrO 2 contributes a net positive charge to ZrO 2 in a large range of pH. However the net charge of the particles depends strongly on the physicochemical environment of the support especially with adsorbed electrolytes such as phosphate ions or triethanolamine.