New types of Polyelectrolyte Complexes (PECs)

Polyelectrolytes are a group of charged macromolecules, traditionally used for enhancing various paper properties, such as for example wet or dry strength. Lately, it has been shown that it can be of both technical and economical interest to pre-form complexes of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes, often referred to as polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs), prior to allowing them to interact with the fibres. These nano-sized PECs can also conveniently be used for different kinds of surface modifications.

In this diploma work, you will look at a new group of raw materials for the PEC preparation. You will also investigate different preparation conditions and their influence on the formed complexes.

This work is a cooperation between KTH and Eka Chemicals. The experimental work will be performed at KTH, Stockholm (Fibre Technology group) but in close contact with Eka Chemicals. The project will be finished with a report written in English and the results will be presented at Eka Chemicals, Rollsbo.