Exact scaling of adsorption isotherms of clay-polymer composites: Comparison to experiment

In this work, we reexamine theoretically the problem of the determination of the adsorption isotherms architecture for clay-polymer complexes using Renormalization Theory. The latter is a powerful theoretical approach giving rise to exact scaling relations near the adsorption temperature. Adsorption isotherms are expressed in terms of the evolution of the equilibrium adsorbed quantity (or simply amount adsorbed) upon the final polymer-density. First, we write exact scaling relations concerning the amount adsorbed in dilute, semi-dilute and saturation regimes, as a function of temperature, molecular-weight and final polymer-density. Second, we compare our theoretical predictions with experimental data choosing some clay–polymer composites. Finally, it is found that theory and experiment are in good agreement. [Display omitted] •New powerful theory for the study of adsorption isotherms of clay-polymer composites.•Exact scaling relations from renormalization theory.•Quantitative discussion of the role of molecular-weight and temperature.•Successful comparison with experiment.