INVESTIGATION OF THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN WATER AND MODIFIED SILICA GEL BY IGC AND TPD

In this work, the thermodynamic parameters for the adsorption of water vapor on untreated silica gel and silica gel treated with hygroscopic salts and silane coupling agent were determined by Inverse Gas Chromatography (IGC) in the infinite dilution region. The desorption activation energies of the water vapor on virgin and modified silica gels were estimated by using the Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) technique. The interactions between the water and the virgin and modified silica gels were discussed. Results showed that the thermodynamic parameters and desorption activation energy of water vapour on the silica gels increase with decreasing pore size and increasing the surface hydrophilic properties. The desorption activation energy of virgin and modified silica gels was found to increase with increasing the thermodynamic parameters. The larger the adsorption parameters and the desorption activation energy were, the interactions between water and virgin and modified silica gels were.