FOAMING IN MECHANOACTIVATED DISPERSIONS

Foaming in suspensions of powders of rare-earth oxides, rendered more hydrophobic by carboxylic soaps and acids, was studied. Carboxylic soa ps and acids are formed in the polishing suspension as a result of the mechanoactivated reaction of interaction between polishing agent and glass. Hydrophobization of the oxide particles is the result of the me chanosorption process. Dependences of the lifetime of foams and partic le hydrophobicity on the equilibrium content of a hydrophobicizing age nt in solution possess an extreme pattern. The maximum values of the l ifetime of foams in the mechanoactivated suspensions are larger by two orders of magnitude than those for the foams of soap solutions, and a re dependent on the degree of hydrophobization of particles exhibited during the mechanosorption process of polishing. On the basis of the r egularities studied, effective techniques were developed to prevent fo aming in the polishing suspensions.