Abstract
The adsorption behaviour of weak polyelectrolytes onto CaF
2 crystals has been investigated to support the research on the mechanism of growth retardation. Adsorption isotherms and surface concentration plateau values of three kinds of poly(phosphino)acrylate, a polyacrylate and a polymaleate were determined at different pH values in pure water and at a higher ionic strength. It was found that the surface concentration plateau values decrease with decreasing pH. The addition of an indifferent salt makes the polyelectrolytes more flexible due to partial screening of the polyelectrolyte charge.