Diatomite Modified with an Alkyl Ketene Dimer for Hydrophobicity of Cellulosic Paper

[Image: see text] Multifunctionalization of papermaking chemicals is one of the main developing strategies. Fillers and internal sizing agents are often mutually restricted in practice. Therefore, it is feasible to prepare a new papermaking chemical by combining the functions of both. A process of diatomite modified with an alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) was developed in this study. The modified diatomite (AD) can concurrently play the role of a mineral filler and sizing agent in the papermaking process. With the equal dosage of AKD, the AD showed better sizing and retention performance than the commercial AKD emulsion in the case of cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) and the CPAM/bentonite retention system. The sizing mechanism of the AD can be interpreted to be due to numerous hydrophobic sites and the microsurface structure of the paper sheet caused by the AD. Since ketones were not detected in Fourier-transform infrared spectra of the paper sheet filled by the AD, the chemical reaction may not be indispensable for its sizing performance. What is more, an interesting “sticky” hydrophobicity phenomenon was observed when filling with AD. The approach in this study to prepare the “sticky” hydrophobic paper sheet can find its applications in some nontraditional application fields of cellulosic paper.