An in situ ATR-FTIR study of polyacrylamide adsorption at the talc surface.

The adsorption of a low molecular weight unmodified polyacrylamide (Polymer-N) and a hydroxyl-substituted polyacrylamide (Polymer-H) onto talc was studied using in situ particle film ATR-FTIR spectroscopy in the multiple internal reflection mode. Spectra of the adsorbed polymer were collected as a function of increasing concentration and as a function of time. Measurement of the peak intensities of the adsorbed polymer allowed adsorption isotherms and adsorption kinetics to be determined for both polymers. Langmuir adsorption isotherm analysis of in situ data yielded Gibbs free energies of adsorption (deltaG0(ads)) for Polymer-N and Polymer-H of -44.5 and -45.7 kJ/mol, respectively, which correlate well with similar values determined from ex situ adsorption isotherms. Kinetic analysis indicated that the adsorption of both polymers was a pseudo-first-order process. The apparent rate constants for Polymer-N and Polymer-H were 0.10 and 0.15 min(-1), respectively. Absence of spectral shifts in the spectra of adsorbed polymer is indicative of a hydrophobic interaction between the polyacrylamides and the talc surface.