The adsorption of polydimethylsiloxanes from solution

The adsorption of polydimethyl siloxane polymers from solution onto polar surfaces has been studied. The amount of polymer adsorbed is unusually sensitive to the presence of moisture, which strongly inhibits adsorption. The adsorption increases with the molecular weight of the polymer and depends on the solvent because of the polymer-surface, solvent-surface, and polymer-solvent interactions. The dependence of adsorption on temperature was studied, as was adsorption-desorption equilibrium. A few experiments were carried out on the adsorption of polypentamethyldisiloxane methacrylate, a material which, in its adsorption behavior, is intermediate between polydimethyl siloxane and vinyl polymers with polar substitutents. The relationship of the results obtained here to various models of polymer chain configuration at the liquid-solid interface is considered.