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Abstract
Clay–polymer dispersions in aqueous solutions are of great interest due to their industrial applications and intriguing physical properties. Aqueous solutions of bare Laponite particles age spontaneously, from an ergodic to a non-ergodic state, in a time varying from hours to months depending on Laponite concentration. When a polymer species, such as polyethylene oxide (PEO), is added to the solution, it weakly adsorbs on clay particle surfaces modifying the effective interaction potential between Laponite particles. A dynamic light-scattering study was performed to investigate the effect of polymer on the aging dynamics of the system by varying the polymer concentration at a fixed polymer molecular weight (M w = 200,000 g/mol). The results show that arresting phenomena between clay particles are hindered when PEO is added and, thus, a slowing of the aging dynamics with increasing PEO concentration is observed. A possible mechanism is progressive coverage of the clay surface by polymers, which grow with increasing PEO concentration.