Understanding of dispersants

Dispersants are amphiphilic chemicals that can increase the compatibility of oily and aqueous components in the same system. There are many types of dispersants, and preliminary estimates suggest that there are over 1000 of them in the world that have dispersing properties. The function of dispersants is to use wetting dispersants to reduce the time and energy required to complete the dispersion process, stabilize the dispersed pigment dispersion, modify the surface properties of pigment particles, and adjust the mobility of pigment particles.

According to its structure, it can be divided into: anionic type; Cationic type; Non-ionic type; Intersex type; Electric neutral type; Polymer dispersants (including high, medium, and low molecular weights). Common dispersants include inorganic dispersants such as sodium hexametaphosphate, sodium pyrophosphate, and metal soaps; Organic small molecule dispersants, such as various surfactants (including detergents), polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, etc; Polymer dispersants, such as sodium polyacrylate, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, paraffin, etc.

Dispersants are additives that can improve and enhance the dispersibility of solid or liquid materials. When grinding solid dyes, adding dispersants helps to pulverize the particles and prevent them from coalescing, thus maintaining the stability of the dispersion. Oil liquids that are insoluble in water can disperse into very small droplets under high shear force stirring. After stopping stirring, they quickly separate under the action of interfacial tension. However, after adding a dispersant and stirring, a stable emulsion can be formed. Its main function is to reduce the interfacial tension between liquid-liquid and solid-liquid. Therefore, dispersants are also surfactants. The types include anionic, cationic, nonionic, amphoteric, and polymeric. Anionic type is most commonly used.