ABSTRACT
I. INTRODUCTION Linear polyelectrolytes are frequently used in colloidal dispersions, either as stabilizers or as flocculants. Hence, quite some attention has been given to the adsorption of these macromolecules; for a review see Fleer et al. [1]. Most investigations have been of an experimental nature and focused on adsorbed amounts as a function of various (experimental) parameters such as charge densities on the polymer and on the surface, ionic strength, and chain length. A few theoretical studies addressed the issue of equilibrium adsorption, using a variety of methods with various degrees of sophistication [2-8]. One paper attempted to distinguish several cases of behavior on the basis of theoretical results [9]. Comparisons between experiments and theory sometimes seemed to be qualitatively successful [1], but before deciding that the theory is indeed adequate, a number of important questions has to be addressed first, such as, What does one actually measure in a typical experiment? Is it the equilibrium adsorbed amount predicted by theory, or does kinetics play a role? How rapidly do these systems equilibrate?
