Exploring the influence of polymer structure on adsorption onto metal surfaces

In mineral processing, the separation of a desired mineral ore from the gangue material is often achieved through the froth flotation process. By leveraging hydrophobic interactions, air bubbles passing through a slurry of the raw materials collect hydrophobic particles and drag them to the surface to form a froth for harvesting. Water-soluble molecules are commonly added to the mineral slurry to alter the surface wettability of select mineral to achieve the desired flotation or the suppression of unwanted material. The effectiveness of these additives depends on the surface coverage, layer thickness, and rigidity of the adsorbed polymer layer. However, particularly in the case of polymeric additives, how their structure relates to their adsorption behavior is far from understood. Unravelling the relationship between polymeric structure and the resulting adsorption kinetics and polymer conformation would enable the development of more efficient polymeric additives. Here, we investigate the role of polymer structure on their adsorption behavior onto metal surfaces. Through a combination of QCM-D and ellipsometry measurements, we explore the effects of the polymer blockiness on the kinetics of the polymer adsorption and the polymer conformation at the interface.