The interfacial properties ofpoly(maleic acid-alt-1-alkene) disodium salts at hydrocarbon/water interfaces are determined. In all the studied systems, the interfacial tension decreases markedly with the polyelectrolyte concentration as the side-chain length increases. The results of the standard free energy of adsorption, DeltaG(ads)(0), are a linear function of the number of carbon atoms in the polyelectrolyle side chain. The contribution to DeltaG(ads)(0) per mol of methylene group varies from -0.64 to -0.52 kJ/mol for the n-octane/waterto n-dodecane/water interfaces. DeltaG(ads)(0) data also reveal that the adsorption process is mainly determined by adsorption efficiency. Comparatively, the adsorption effectiveness seems to play a less important role. The theoretical interaction energies calculated for the insertion of one hydrocarbon molecule into the space formed by two neighboring polyelectrolyte side chains are in good agreement with the experimental results. The latter results are consistent with van der Waals-type interactions between the hydrocarbon molecules and the polyelectrolyte side chains. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.