Anomalous stability of aqueous boehmite dispersions induced by hydrolyzed aluminium poly-cations

Aqueous dispersions of colloidal boehmite rods turn into strong gels when the concentration of (1–1) electrolyte concentrations becomes exceeds 50 mM. However, after addition of aluminium chlorohydrate (ACH) the rods remain stable up to salt concentrations as high as 2 M. Moreover the boehmite-ACH dispersions with an aspect ratio of 19 quickly separate into an isotropic and a liquid crystal nematic phase above a typical threshold concentration of 2 v/v%. It is known that ACH forms polynuclear cations at mild acidic conditions. The anomalous stability as encountered in these dispersions is explained by assuming that these hydrolyzed poly-cations cause a shift of the charge carrying surface.