Title
Highly hydrophobic N-alkylmaleimide and succinic anhydride derivatives of anthracene as potential sizing agents for the paper industry
Authors
BRANDON W. MOBLEY SURAJ K. AYER TIFFANY E. ADKINS STEVEN R. BOONE and JEAN FOTIE

Received April 12, 2017
Published Volume 52 Issue 3-4 March-April
Keywords N-alkylmaleimides, Diels-Alder adducts of anthracene, reactivity, alkenyl succinic anhydrides, paper sizing

Abstract
A series of N-alkylmaleimides and Diels-Alder adducts of anthracene have been prepared, converted into aqueous emulsions, and evaluated for their sizing properties through the production of paper handsheets. The sizing performance of each sample was compared to that of standard alkaline sizes, namely, alkenylsuccinic anhydrides (ASA). While none of the evaluated compounds was nearly as effective as the conventional ASA sizes, Diels-Alder adducts of anthracene with succinic anhydride moieties similar to that of ASAs appeared to display a totally different reactivity toward either the paper furnish or the hydroxyl group in alcohols tested during this study. This report shows that the presence of a high hydrophobic area and a succinic anhydride reactive moiety in a molecule does not guaranty a good paper sizing effect. This work also investigates and rationalizes the wide difference in reactivity between these two families of compounds, and provides some insights into the sizing mechanism of ASA paper sizing agents.