Complexation between poly(maleic acid/octyl vinyl ether) and poly(vinyl caprolactam) in aqueous solution and at the alumina/water interface

Solution and interfacial properties of binary polymer mixtures of poly(maleic acid/octyl vinyl ether) (PMAOVE) and poly(vinyl caprolactam) (PVCAP) have been studied for the alumina/water system. To test the hydrophobic effect, mixtures of poly(maleic acid/methyl vinyl ether) (PMAMVE) and PVCAP are also investigated and compared to the behavior of PMAOVE/PVCAP. At low pH, both polymer mixtures become turbid upon mixing. The turbidity increases at low mixing ratios of PVCAP to the vinyl ether component, reaches a maximum, and then decreases at higher mixing ratios. Upon shifting the pH to the alkaline range, i.e., pH 7.5 and above, the turbid solution becomes clear for both the polymer mixtures. Cloud point measurements indicate the absence of complexation of PVCAP with PMAMVE under the alkaline conditions, but strong interaction with PMAOVE. This is attributed to the different forces involved in the complexation among the polymers: H bonding for PVCAP/PMAMVE and both H bonding and hydrophobic effects for PVCAP/PMAOVE. At the alumina/water interface, the normally nonadsorbing PVCAP is triggered to adsorb by PMAOVE, attributed to the hydrophobic complexation between the two. However, the adsorption of PVCAP shows a maximum as a function of the concentration of PMAOVE. At concentrations of PMAOVE above the onset of its own plateau adsorption, the amount of PVCAP triggered to adsorb is reduced possibly due to the polymer complex formation in solution.