Pigment particle coagulation is an important step in the formation of an inkjet image. The size of the formed colorant flocs determines how deeply the colorant penetrates into the substrate and hence has a significant impact on image quality (optical density, gloss, chroma, etc.). Many
factors (e.g. charge density) determine the colorant coagulation rate and an in-depth understanding of these factors is needed to assist in the design of advanced colorants for inkjet applications. This study focused on a series of pigment particles that had been chemically modified using
Cabot's patented surface modification technology. When the pigment was de-stabilized under various triggering conditions, such as ionic strength and pH, particles started to coagulate. The rate of coagulation was measured by monitoring the time evolution of the floc size as determined
by dynamic light scattering (DLS). A characteristic coagulation time,
Yuan Yu, Friedrich von Gottberg, "Coagulation Kinetics of Surface Modified Pigment Particles" in Proc. IS&T Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies (NIP18), 2002, pp 383 - 387, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2002.18.1.art00093_1