XPS analysis of polyacrylamide adsorption to kaolinite, quartz and feldspar

This study describes results in which mineral surfaces, treated with partially hydrolysed polyacrylamide (HPAM), were analysed in both standard and imaging XPS instruments. The adsorption of HPAM, as a function of mineral surface, solution concentration and solution pH, has been followed using XPS. Imaging XPS was used to show that HPAM adsorbed preferentially on kaolinite, demonstrating its applicability to measurements of polymeric adsorption at mineral surfaces.