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Model surfaces for paper fibers prepared from carboxymethyl cellulose and polycations

For a tailored functionalization of cellulose based papers, the interaction between paper fibers and functional additives have to be understood. Planar cellulose surfaces present a suitable model system for studying the binding of additives. In this work, polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) as model surfaces are prepared by alternating dip coating of the negatively charged cellulose derivate carboxymethyl cellulose and a polycation, either PDADMAC or chitosan. The varied parameters of the PEM formation are the polyelectrolyte concentrations and pH (pH=2-6). Both PEM systems exhibit an exponential growth, which reveals a high mobility of the polyelectrolytes (PEs). The pH-tunable charge density leads to PEMs with different surface topographies. QCM-D experiments reveal pronounced viscoelastic properties of the PEMs. Ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy measurements show that the strong and highly charged polycation PDADMAC leads to the formation of smooth PEMs. The weak polycation chitosan results in cellulose model surfaces with higher film thicknesses and a tunable roughness. The PEMs prepared from both polycations exhibit a high water uptake when exposed to a humid environment. The resulting PEMs are suitable water-stable but water swellable model surfaces with a controllable roughness and topography.