I’ve got hard water and want to make clear gels of Laponite® in water. Is there an additive that I can use to treat my water source?
In practical terms, the most appropriate way to deal with issues arising from use of Laponite® products with hard water is to choose one of the sol forming grades, e.g. Laponite® RDS, S482 or SL25 . However, a clear gel of Laponite® in water can be useful for technical purposes as a simple model for demonstrating the unique properties that can be imparted by using Laponite® as rheological additive in water based formulated products. The proven additive for hard water as far as Laponite® and clear gels is concerned is tetra-sodium pyrophosphate, the additive that is used to convert Laponite® into sol forming grades. TSPP will produce insoluble Ca & Mg salts with colloidal particle-size…i.e. the insoluble particles are very small and do not cause haziness. The problem with TSPP is that it is also a dispersant for Laponite® RD and if added in excess it may cause sol formation or reduction in gel strength. Because of this, it is essential to just add the right amount of polyphosphate to ge
