Polymer-surface interactions in flowing systems were studied using an attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technique. The absorbance of deuterated polyethylene, d-PE66 (M w ) 6.60 × 10 4 ) and d-PE112 (M w ) 1.12 × 10 5 ), near the surface of a flat zinc selenide crystal was followed as it was replaced by linear low-density polyethylene (M w ) 1.07 × 10 5 ). The experiments were performed under wall stresses of 0.090, 0.134, and 0.155 MPa using a rectangular flow channel formed by a ZnSe crystal and an aluminum block. The decay profiles depended on the molecular weight distribution, the chemical composition distribution, and the shear stress. For d-PE112, the decay profiles suggest that slip is due to a cohesive failure. For d-PE66, the slip mechanism appeared to be due to adhesive failure. For d-PE112 with larger and regular chains, an immobile layer forms whose thickness (12-17 nm) depended on the wall shear stress.