The Influence of Polyvinyl Alcohol on the Stability of Aqueous Dispersions of Nanodiamonds

Abstract— The stability of aqueous dispersions of detonation nanodiamonds (NDs) in the presence of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is studied. It is found that PVA additives with a concentration above 0.1 wt % cause the formation of aggregates. To increase the stability of dispersions of NDs, it is proposed to add a stabilizer—an anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)—into the system. As a result of the simultaneous stabilizing action of an SDS–PVA mixture, the aggregation stability of aqueous dispersions of NDs noticeably increases, while the particle size in the dispersions remains unchanged for several days.