Enhancing ink adhesion of specialty paper using an interpenetrating polyvinyl alcohol-blocked polyurethane polymer network sizing system
Yihe Liu, Yiding Shen, Xiaorui Li, Yuanyuan Dang, Lintao Li, Kai Yang
Abstract
adhering inks to paper by spraying, smearing and soaking. The bonding strength was tested by peel-off tape tests, soaking tests, and simulated washing tests. The results showed that the water contact angle of the sized-paper increased from 67.6° to 89.7°. The mechanical properties had been greatly improved after treatment and SEM, AFM and XPS analyses indicated an increase in surface roughness and the oxygen-containing polar groups (C[double bond, length as m-dash]O, C-OH, -NH-COO- and COOH) enhanced the fixation of ink particles on the fiber surface. These tests indicated that the novel composite system of TBPU/PVA could endow specialty paper with superb mechanical properties and more than 90% ink retention rate. All these advantages of this composite system may contribute to its wide application in the fields of papermaking and printing.