A study of the interaction between polyelectrolyte-coated nanostructured CaCO3 particles and a stearic acid monolayer spread at the water/air interface

The influence of nanostructured CaCO3 particles, both uncoated and coated with a polyelectrolyte (poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride), polyethyleneimine, fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate-labeled poly(allylamine hydrochloride), or sodium polystyrene sulfonate), on a stearic acid monolayer spread on the surface of an aqueous subphase has been studied. The interaction of the particles present in the subphase with the monolayer as depending on the presence and composition of a polymer coating has been estimated with the help of compression isotherms and the Brewster angle microscopy. The monolayers were transferred from the aqueous subphase onto a solid substrate and studied by scanning electron microscopy. Strong interaction has been revealed between the calcium carbonate particles and the stearic acid monolayer. It has been shown that the transfer of the monolayer from the aqueous suspension surface onto the solid substrate may be accompanied by the detachment of the polymer coating from the surface of CaCO3 particles or their transfer together with the monolayer.