Thickness of non-ionic polymer layers carried by inorganic adsorbents in the case of the TiO2—poly ethyleneglycol system

The variation of the quantity of poly(ethyleneglycol) adsorbed on TiO2, which follows a logarithmic law and is consistent with the exponential decrease in non-ionic polymer density observed by Hesselink at the solid-liquid interface, results in reduced ζ potential values. This decrease is uniquely due to the shift of the shear plane with a distance x equal to the thickness of the adsorbed polymer layer. A law, allowing the calculation of the thickness x from the adsorbed quantity of polymer Γ and the ζ potential, was suggested. A coefficient Γα relating the adsorption α to x was defined.