Macromolecules, Vol.27, No.19, 5271-5276, 1994
Rate of Adsorption of Diblock Copolymers from Micellar Solutions on Solid-Liquid Interfaces
We present results relative to the kinetics of adsorption of the diblock copolymer poly(vinylpyridine)-polystyrene on silica from toluene solution using a radiolabeled polymer. The investigations are carried out by controlling the rate of the polymer supply to the adsorbent to determine the kinetic coefficient K(N(s)) as a function of the number of adsorbed copolymers N(s). The bulk concentration N is monitored by controlling either the concentration of the polymer solution injected into the reactor or the rate of injection. The variation of K(N(s)) vs N(s) is correlated to the decrease in the surface area available to the solute polymer. The first step in the adsorption is purely to fill the surface by depositing the polymer chains on free surface areas. Over a degree of coverage close to 35%, the adsorption is mainly controlled by limited surface accessibility and also retarded by the diffusional transfer through the dangling polystyrene chains. Experiments carried out with copolymers of different size asymmetry ratios show that the relative size of the polystyrene coil anchored at the surface controls this adsorption mechanism. As the solution is composed of unimers and micelles whose relative concentration is a function of the total copolymer concentration, this parameter is varied to investigate the characteristics of the adsorption of unimers and micelles. We determined that the two constituents adsorb on the surface in a zigzag conformation.