Dispersion and Flocculation Behavior of Metal Oxide in Organic Solvent

The relation between the flocculation and dispersion of metal oxide powders and the properties of solvents, such as dielectric constant and solubility parameter, was investigated for TiO$_2$, $Al_2$O$_3$and Fe$_2$O$_3$particles. The particle size and median diameter of these metal oxides were measured in many organic solvents, from which the effect of solvents on the flocculation and dispersion of metal oxide powders was considered. The metal oxide powders of TiO$_2$, $Al_2$O$_3$and Fe$_2$O$_3$tend to disperse in a solvent of higher polarity, whereas they are apt to flocculate in a solvent of low dielectric constant, because the Hamaker constant between the particles becomes larger in such a solvent. There we, however, some solvents that do not obey these tendencies. It is possible to evaluate the flocculation and dispersion of these metal oxide powders in many solvents by using numeral balances of Hansen’s three-dimensional solubility parameter (f$_{d}$, f$_{p}$ and f$_{h}$). There exists a solvent giving the optimal dispersion for each metal oxide, and the optimal dispersion point of f$_{d}$, f$_{p}$ and f$_{h}$ is determined by the combination of various metal oxide powders and solvents.nts.nts.nts.