ESR Studies of the Competitive Adsorption Behavior of Poly(methyl methacrylate) and Polystyrene Mixtures at the Solid–Liquid Interface

Abstract

Abstract The adsorption from solution of polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) mixtures on a silica surface was studied in order to establish the competitive adsorption behavior of these polymers. The fractions of train segment for these polymers were determined from the ESR spectra analyses, and these values were compared with those of the individual adsorption. When the initial concentrations of the polymer mixtures in solution were fixed and the added amounts of silica adsorbent were varied, the adsorption of polystyrene did not take place until the poly(methyl methacrylate) in solution was completely exhausted. In the simultaneous adsorption, the amount of adsorption of poly(methyl methacrylate) was affected by the presence of polystyrene in the solution. On the other hand, the amount of adsorption of polystyrene was unaffected by the presence of poly(methyl methacrylate) in the system. The conformation of the adsorbed poly(methyl methacrylate) was also affected by the presence of polystyrene when they were simultaneously adsorbed on the silica surface. The conformation of the poly(methyl methacrylate) adsorbed from the mixed solution formed a more compressed polymer layer in comparison with that for the case where the poly(methyl methacrylate) was adsorbed alone.