During the past three years considerable progress has been made in the study of adsorption of high polymers on the surfaces of solids from solution. A number of experimental investigations have established that linear polymers are adsorbed at a number of segments along the molecular chain and that an apparent saturation value of the adsorption is reached with increasing concentration, leading to isotherms that exhibit considerable similarity with the classical Langmuir isotherm. Kolthoff and others have shown that poor solvents favor adsorption and that fractions of high molecular weight are adsorbed preferentially. Polymer of low molecular weight is adsorbed more rapidly, but is eventually replaced by fractions of higher molecular weight. Kolthoff and Gutmacher also observed some evidence of adsorption hysteresis in rubber-carbon black systems. Preferential adsorption effects have also been described by Goldfinger and others, who, in addition, furnished an estimate of the thickness of the adsorbed layer. Theoretical explanation for many of these effects has recently come from a detailed statistical mechanical treatment of polymer adsorption by Frisch, Simha, and Eirich.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.