Effect of coating type and grammage of printing paper on water drop contact angle over time

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effect of various paper coatings on initial contact angle and its evolution over time. We investigated nine coatings on two types of 75 g and 125 g printing papers. Seven coating compositions containing 80% clay, 20% ground calcium carbonate, dispersing agent and various levels of polyvinyl acetate and lactic acid as binders were used. In the last two coatings, we used 100% precipitated calcium carbonate pigments, cationic starch, methacrylate, dispersant and two levels of cellulose nanofibers. In these suspensions, the amount of cellulose nanofibers in composition 8 is twice composition 9. After coating using rod method, the papers were dried then coated and control samples were calendered. We then performed contact angle measurements using water droplet and Kit No were performed. We noticed largest contact angle and smallest angle change over time for sample 6 containing 75% binder. Last two coatings contained cellulose nanofibers, which caused presence of hydroxyl group on the surface and lowered the contact angle. Composition eight was the most hydrophilic sample. Best barrier property Kit No and largest droplet volume after 20 seconds was accompanied with the increase of the binder percentage in the formulation. For the control sample and three treatments with highest binders, the contact angle over time remains relatively constant which is a sign of hydrophobicity. The correlation between contact angle and volume of the water droplet was determined to be 0.951 and 0.936 in the 75g and 125g papers relatively. We did not notice a significant difference in contact angle and Kit No between 75g and 125g samples.