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The adsorption of copolymers of polystyrene and hydrogenated polyisoprene block copolymers adsorbed from cyclohexane onto carbon black has been investigated. The adsorption of the copolymers was found strongly dependent on copolymer composition. The conformation of the adsorbed polymer is largely determined by the surface−copolymer interaction, especially by the interaction of the polystyrene block with the carbon black surface. Computer simulations of a polystyrene/hydrogenated polyisopropene diblock copolymer tethered to a cyclohexane−carbon interface have been performed. Interfacial volume fraction profiles are presented. An estimation of the relative adsorption affinities of the two polymers has been obtained by theoretical calculations using the self-consistent mean field model of Scheutjens and Fleer. The data show good qualitative agreement between the experimental results and the theoretical predictions.

The adsorption of monodisperse block copolymers comprising poly(ethylene oxide)−poly(butylene oxide) onto polystyrene latex from aqueous solution has been investigated by small-angle neutron scattering and photon correlation spectroscopy with particular reference to the role of molecular architecture. It appears that chain architecture is (i) a weak factor in the adsorption behavior when the hydrophobic block is located in the center of the polymer, since the triblock E100B15E100 behaved very similarly to the cyclic c-E200B15, but (ii) a significant factor when the hydrophobic block is located at the end of the copolymer chain, as shown by the more dense and thicker layer formed by E200B15 compared to the triblock E100B15E100. The hydrodynamic thickness of the layer formed by the small diblock E100B15 was approximately half that exhibited by the larger diblock E200B15. Good agreement was observed between depletion and SANS-derived adsorbed amounts. Theoretical predictions and self-consistent mean-field calculations of the adsorption also show excellent qualitative agreement with experiment.