ABSTRACT
Microcalorimetry is a unique method to get direct insight into the energetics of polymer adsorption—it is particularly appropriated for the measurement of the number of adherent segments and force of adhesion, since each segment–surface binding is accompanied by a measurable enthalpic contribution. Flow adsorption microcalorimetry is a powerful tool for the combined evaluation of both the amount and heat of adsorption under dynamic flow conditions. Many theoretical treatments have been made to describe the conformation and the concentration profile of adsorbed polymers from its solution at the solid surface. The adsorption reaction is termed by convention exothermic when the arrangement of molecules in the products after adsorption is more stable, and thus possesses less energy than the arrangement of the molecules in the reactants before adsorption. Flexible polymers have a high degree of liberty; therefore, their adsorption is characterized by a large number of conformational possibilities.
