Surface forces in aqueous polyvinylamine solutions. I. Glass surfaces

A noninterferometric surface force apparatus has been used to measure interactions between glass spheres in dilute aqueous polyvinylamine solutions at two different salt concentrations. Close to the substrate charge neutralization point, an attractive interaction is present mainly because of bridging of the extending polymer tails. Additional adsorption leads to an overcompensation of the glass negative surface charge, and the interaction at this point is dominated by a long-range double-layer repulsion. The results from fitting the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek theory to the measured force curves demonstrate that the degree of overcompensation increases with polyelectrolyte concentration and increasing ionic strength of the solution (addition of indifferent electrolyte). An increase in ionic strength results in the screening of the electrostatic forces which leads to: (i) a reduced free energy cost of creating a charged interface, (ii) a decreased repulsion between protonated amine groups along the polymer backbone and a corresponding increased chain flexibility, (iii) a reduced electrostatic attraction between the polyelectrolyte and the surface. The first effect is apparently is the most important in the present case.