Adsorption characteristics of polyvinylpyrrolidone at solid-liquid interface

Adsorption studies of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) on the surface of colloidal silicas, Aerosil 300 and Aerosil R-972 are reported. The adsorption isotherms of PVP at the hydrophilic silica/aqueous solution interface were greater than that at the hydrophobic silica R-972. The PVP adsorption shows that the amount adsorbed decreases with the concentration. The isotherms contain a minimum when water is used as the solvent. The minimum disappears when Na₂SO₄ 0.55 M is used as the solvent. The PVP adsorption behavior could be due to a different adsorption rate of the various molecular species of the fractions. The orientation of macromolecules adsorbed on the surface would depend on the polymer-solvent interaction in solution. The adsorption would be governed by the surface structural characteristics and would be a function of the molecular weight of the polymer depending on the macromoleculer orientation within the interface.