Surface characterization of industrial fibers with inverse gas chromatography

Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) was applied for the determination of the surface characteristics of Tenax carbon fibers and Akzo Nobel Twaron fibers. Furthermore, IGC procedures for the determination of dispersive and acid-base interactions were validated. The data show that too high values for the dispersive component of the surface energy are obtained when the adsorption area occupied by a single adsorbed n-alkane molecule is estimated from parameters of the corresponding liquid. Comparable values are obtained when the Doris-Gray methodology (area per methylene unit) or measured probe areas are employed. For the fibers studied in this work meaningful Gibbs energy values of the acid-base interaction were only obtained with the polarizability approach. When the dispersive interaction of the polar probes with the fiber surface was scaled to the n-alkane interaction via surface tension, the boiling point, or the vapor pressure of the probes often negative acid-base interaction energies were found. From the temperature dependence of the Gibbs energy, the enthalpy of the acid-base interactions of various probes with the carbon and Twaron aramid fibers was determined. However, from these enthalpy values no meaningful acid-base surface parameters could be obtained. Generally, the limited accuracy with which these parameters can be obtained make the usefulness of this procedure questionable. Also the Gibbs energy data of acid-base interaction can provide a qualitative basis to classify the acidity-basicity of the fiber surface. This latter approach requires only a limited data set and is sufficiently rapid to enable the use of IGC as a screening tool for fibers at a production site. For several polar probes significant concentration effects on carbon fibers were observed. At very low probe loadings the interaction with the fiber surface suddenly increases. This effect is caused by the heterogeneity of the interaction energy of the active sites at the surface. A simple procedure to measure the adsorption isotherm at infinite dilution was developed. The determination of the concentration dependence of the interaction of an n-alkane, an acidic and a basic probe was incorporated in the IGC screening procedure of carbon fibers to monitor this heterogeneity.     

Surface heterogeneity and surface area from linear inverse gas chromatography. Application to glass fibers

A new method of measuring surface heterogeneity of non-porous adsorbents by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) is developed. In contrast with the methods described in the literature which are based on nonlinear chromatography (thermodynamics of adsorption) this method is based on linear chromatography (kinetics of adsorption). The mass balance equation of linear chromatography with axial diffusion term and the Langmuir kinetic equation on an open (non-porous) heterogeneous surface are solved by the method of Laplace transforms. The expressions for four semi-invariants of an elution profile are obtained. These are linear combinations of the moments of the distribution of sites in residence time of adsorbed molecule with coefficients determined from elution profile of non-adsorbing gas. Four semi-invariants of elution profiles of benzene and methane on a column packed with E-glass fiber were determined experimentally at temperatures around 100 degrees C. The mean, the standard deviation of the normal distribution in adsorption energy as well as the sticking coefficient and pre-exponential factor of the Frenkel equation are determined for benzene on E-glass. A method of the specific surface determination from linear IGC is proposed.     

Effect of surface heterogeneity on adsorption on solid surfaces. Application of inverse gas chromatography in the studies of energetic heterogeneity of adsorbents

The paper presents a literature review of the chromatographic methods used for investigations of the heterogeneity of solid surfaces. Special attention is paid to inverse gas chromatography (IGC). Quantitative characteristics of heterogeneity of real solid surfaces including extreme models on adsorption centre topography of the "patch-wise" and "random" types are described. Analytical and numerical methods used for calculating the adsorption energy distribution function as a quantitative measure of surface heterogeneity are presented. Special attention is paid to the condensation approximation as well as to other approximations based on this assumption. IGC is presented as a quick, precise and effective method to characterise physicochemical properties of different kinds of adsorbents. Advantages of IGC over traditional methods of gas and vapour adsorption are shown.     

Inverse gas chromatography for natural fibre characterisation: dispersive and acid-base distribution profiles of the surface energy

Inverse Gas Chromatography (IGC) is a gas sorption technique to determine the surface energy of natural fibres. The surface energy is directly related to the thermodynamic work of adhesion and it reflects the fibre adsorption capacity and its wettability. However, natural fibres have a complex surface chemistry of numerous organic species and present physical asperities that render the surface energetically heterogeneous. Since IGC is typically performed at infinite dilution where only the higher energetic sites interact with the solvent, a single measure of surface energy is likely to be misleading as the surface energy changes with changing chemical composition. Here we present the dispersive and acid-base surface energy profiles of flax and kenaf fibres as well as continuous filament fibres produced by a dry jet, wet spinning process (cellulose B). We injected a series of n-alkanes at finite dilution to obtain the dispersive energy distribution profile at \(30\,^{\circ }\hbox {C}\) and 0% RH. The acid-base contributions were determined by injection of mono polar probes (dichloromethane, ethylacetate) at the same surface coverages and applying the Van Oss method. The cellulose B fibres were the most energetically homogeneous, while the bast fibres were shown to have a higher polar component and much broader surface energy distributions than the cellulose fibres.     

Surface modification of high-performance polymeric fibers by an oxygen plasma. A comparative study of poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) and poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole)

Poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA) and poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibers were exposed to an oxygen plasma under equivalent conditions. The resulting changes in the surface properties of PPTA and PBO were comparatively investigated using inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Both non-polar (n-alkanes) and polar probes of different acid-base characteristics were used in IGC adsorption experiments. Following plasma exposure, size-exclusion phenomena, probably associated to the formation of pores (nanoroughness), were detected with the largest n-alkanes (C(9) and C(10)). From the adsorption of polar probes, an increase in the number or strength of the acidic and basic sites present at the fiber surfaces following plasma treatment was detected. The effects of the oxygen plasma treatments were similar for PPTA and PBO. In both cases, oxygen plasma introduces polar groups onto the surfaces, involving an increase in the degree of surface nanoroughness. AFM measurements evidenced substantial changes in the surface morphology at the nanometer scale, especially after plasma exposure for a long time. For the PBO fibers, the outermost layer - contaminant substances - was removed thanks to the plasma treatment, which indicates that this agent had a surface cleaning effect.     

Effect of acid treatment on surface properties evolution of attapulgite clay: An application of inverse gas chromatography

In this paper, the evolution of structural, textural and surface properties of attapulgite after treatment with increasing concentrations of hydrochloric acid (0.5, 1, 3 and 5 M) is reported. The solids obtained were characterized by SEM, XRD, FTIR and BET analysis. The surface properties were also evaluated using inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilution (IGC-ID) and finite concentration (IGC-FC). The IGC analysis permitted us to reach several parameters such as: specific surface area, BET constant with organic probes and the distribution functions of the adsorption energy sites on the solid surface. At dilute concentrations of acid, carbonates are eliminated and the specific surface area increases. However, the morphology and crystal structure of attapulgite are preserved. At higher concentrations of acid, dissolution of octahedral sheets and at the same time formation of an amorphous silica from the tetrahedral sheets occur. However, the fibrous morphology is still preserved. The calculation of distribution functions reveals a clear evolution in the heterogeneity of the surface during the acid treatment, the appearance of shoulders is attributed to the development of strong specific interactions between the injected polar probe and silanol groups on the surface of amorphous silica formed during the acid treatment.     

Determination of isotherms by gas-solid chromatography. Applications

This literature review of the fundamental developments in gas-solid adsorption isotherms includes articles published from 1933 until now. Analytical and numerical methods used for calculating the adsorption energy distribution function, as a quantitative measure of surface heterogeneity, are included. Special attention is paid to inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and more precisely to a new version of IGC known as reversed-flow gas chromatography (RF-IGC or RF-GC). RF-GC is presented as a quick, precise and effective method to investigate physicochemical properties of different kinds of adsorbents, through adsorption isotherms and related energetic parameter determinations. Advantages of the RF-GC method over traditional chromatographic methods are discussed.     

Surface heterogeneity of porous polymer sorbents

The distribution function of the energy of adsorption (heterogeneity function, χ) was studied for porous polymers using inverse gas chromatography. The heterogeneity functions to-wards n-hexane, n-butanol, and ethyl acetate probes were obtained for four porous polymers prepared by polymerization of styrene and divinylbenzene. The value of c for the polar surface depends on the choice of the test sorbate. The possibility of comparing surface heterogeneity of various porous polymers using the parameter χ was shown.     

Adsorption of n-alkanes on plasma-oxidized high-strength carbon fibers

The objective of this work was to characterize the degree of heterogeneity brought about by oxygen plasma treatment of carbon fibers by studying its effects on the adsorption of n-alkanes. Untreated and unsized high-strength carbon fibers were subjected to oxygen plasma treatments with different degrees of severity. A sample of the same material oxidized following a standard industrial method was also studied for comparison. Adsorption of C5-C10n-alkanes at 303-353 K was measured by inverse gas chromatography (IGC). Elution peaks were symmetrical for the fresh and industrially oxidized samples; however, a large extent of asymmetry was observed for the plasma-treated fibers. Differences in surface heterogeneity were quantified in terms of several adsorption thermodynamic magnitudes. Differential heats of adsorption exhibited values similar to those corresponding to the probe-basal plane interaction. The dispersive component of the surface tension of the solids increased clearly upon plasma oxidation, the increase being systematic according to the severity of plasma treatment. It can be concluded that plasma oxidation generates high-surface-energy sites responsible for trapping of n-alkane molecules, this effect being more marked as the chain length increases. The possibility of this effect being associated to creation of micropores was ruled out on the basis of volumetric CO2 adsorption experiments and IGC measurements at finite dilution. Scanning tunneling microscopy observations allowed us to establish a possible connection between fiber surface nanostructure and IGC results. The sites accessible to n-alkane molecules in the industrially oxidized sample seem to be highly disordered, thus leading to a weaker interaction with the adsorbate.     

Comparative study on the gas-phase adsorption of hexane over zeolites by calorimetry and inverse gas chromatography

The scope of this work is to carry out a systematic comparison of inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and microcalorimetry as tools for the study of the gas-phase adsorption of organic vapours (using hexane as model compound) on zeolitic materials (using different Mn, Co and Fe-exchanged NaX and CaA zeolites). Adsorption isotherms were recorded using both techniques in the temperature range of 150-250 degrees C, being observed that the shape of the isotherms obtained with the dynamic (IGC) and static (microcalorimetry) techniques was surprisingly similar in the pressure range at which both techniques are applicable (low surface coverages). Concerning to the measurement of the strength of the adsorption, calorimetric data provide two parameters related to the adsorption enthalpy: the initial differential heat and the isosteric adsorption enthalpy. A great coincidence was found between the last one and the adsorption enthalpy determined by IGC (4-20% of difference, depending on the studied material). The behaviour of the initial differential heat depends strongly on the studied material, being in some cases closely related to the other two parameters and temperature-independent (in the case on Mn-exchanged zeolites), whereas for the Co-CaA and Fe-CaA zeolites, it is temperature-dependent, being not correlated with the other parameters in this case. The main conclusion of this work is that IGC is an attractive alternative to the static microcalorimetric data for obtaining information on the adsorption of organic compounds on microporous materials.     

Determination of the acid/base properties of MgY and NH4Y molecular sieves by inverse gas chromatography

The surface characterization of MgY and NH(4)Y zeolites was performed using inverse gas chromatography (IGC). The adsorption thermodynamic parameters (the standard enthalpy (DeltaH degrees ), standard entropy change (DeltaS degrees ), and free energy change of adsorption (DeltaG degrees ), the dispersive component of the surface free energies (gamma(S)(d)), and the acid-base character of the surface of MgY and NH(4)Y zeolites were estimated using the retention time of different non-polar and polar probes at infinite dilution region. The specific free energy of adsorption (DeltaG(sp)), the specific enthalpy of adsorption (DeltaH(sp)), and the specific entropy of adsorption (DeltaS(sp)) of polar probes on MgY and NH(4)Y zeolites were determined. The values of the DeltaH(sp) were correlated with both the donor and acceptor numbers of the probes to quantify the acidic K(A) and the basic K(D) parameters of the zeolite surfaces. The values obtained for the K(A) and K(D) parameters indicated a basic character for the surface of MgY and NH(4)Y zeolites.     

A study of the surface properties of cotton fibers by inverse gas chromatography

In the present study, the potential relationships between the microstructure and the surface properties of different cotton fibers are analyzed by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) at infinite dilution. By measuring the retention time of polar and nonpolar gaseous probes into a column containing the fibers, surface characteristics of these fibers, in particular the dispersive component of their surface energy and their surface morphological index, were determined. It is clearly shown that the presence of natural waxes on cotton fibers plays a major role on their thermodynamic surface properties, affecting the surface energy and the acid-base character as well as the morphological aspects of such fibers. Finally, it appeared that IGC is a well appropriate method for the evaluation of the surface characteristics of cotton fibers.     

反相气相色谱法研究1,3,5-三氨基-2,4,6-三硝基苯的表面特性

采用反相气相色谱技术(IGC)研究了4种不同粒度的1,3,5-三氨基-2,4,6-三硝基苯(TATB)的表面性质。4种不同粒度的TATB表面自由能的色散分量（γds）随着温度的升高而增加;粒度越大的粒子,其色散自由能上升越快;在较高温度下,粗颗粒TATB显示了更强的色散作用(γds=193.2 mJ/m2,353 K),粒度最小的亚微米TATB显示了最弱的色散作用(γds=64.0 mJ/m2,353 K)。由于制备方法不同和粒子大小的差异,4种TATB的表面酸碱性质显示了明显的差别,细颗粒TATB表面有较强的亲电子特性;而其他3种TATB在极性探针分子的作用下的吸附均表现为吸热吸附,表现出在分子内和分子间具有强烈的相互作用,其Ka和Kb值均为负。     

反相气相色谱法表征1-烯丙基-3-甲基氯代咪唑离子液体的表面性质

采用反相气相色谱(IGC)技术研究了不同温度下1-烯丙基-3-甲基氯代咪唑(［AMIM］Cl)的表面性质。以正己烷、正庚烷、正辛烷和正壬烷作为非极性探针分子测定［AMIM］Cl在343.15、353.15、363.15和373.15 K温度下的表面色散自由能;以二氯甲烷、三氯甲烷、丙酮、乙酸乙酯、四氢呋喃作为极性探针分子测定离子液体Lewis酸碱性质,并测定了吸附自由能和吸附自由焓变等热动力学参数。实验结果表明,［AMIM］Cl的酸解离平衡常数Ka为0.34,碱解离平衡常数Kb为1.68,其表面呈Lewis两性偏碱性特点。在343.15、353.15、363.15和373.15 K温度下,［AMIM］Cl的表面色散自由能分别为52.26、50.82、46.08和42.05 mJ/m2。这一结果对研究离子液体的表面性质及应用有指导作用。     

反气相色谱法测定锌镁铝类水滑石的表面性能

采用水热合成法制备了锌镁铝类水滑石(ZnMgAl-HTLC),利用X射线衍射仪(XRD)对ZnMgAl-HTLC的晶体结构进行了表征,并以一系列非极性和极性分子为探针分子,采用反气相色谱法(IGC)研究了ZnMgAl-HTLC的表面性能.结果表明:XRD特征衍射峰窄、尖、高,水热合成法能够制得纯度较高的ZnMgAl-HTLC; ZnMgAl-HTLC表面吸附自由能小于零,表面色散自由能最大为6.02 mJ/m²,酸碱作用自由能最大为5.33 kJ/mol,吸附焓为43.6 kJ/mol,吸附熵为0.15 kJ/mol.本文的反气相色谱方法对研究锌镁铝类水滑石的表面性能具有重要的指导意义.     

Variation in surface energy heterogeneity of graphite due to adsorption of polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate

The heterogeneity of surface energy of graphite before and after adsorption of polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate (Tween80) was investigated by the nitrogen adsorption technique. The nitrogen adsorption energy distributions (AEDs) were calculated from the low-pressure isotherm data (i.e., the data of submonolayer adsorption) according to the regularization method. Based on the AED of pristine graphite, two types of dominant energetic surface are identified and assigned respectively to the basal surface and the irregular surface, including the stepped edges and defect sites. When the adsorption amount of Tween80 is raised, both the surface energy and the energy heterogeneity of graphite gradually decline. It is thus demonstrated that Tween80 prefers interacting with and screening higher energetic surfaces to lower ones.     

Application of programmed thermodesorption of the liquid under quasi-isothermal conditions to investigate physicochemical properties of liquid layers and solid surfaces

This paper presents the results of measurements of the programmed thermodesorption of polar and nonpolar liquids from the surface of different types of solids. The course of thermodesoption was found to depend on the properties of the solid and the wetting liquid. Thermodesorption occurred not exponentially but in steps, which reflects the noncontinuous changes in the properties of the surface layer with the distance from the solid surface. This effect intensified with the increase in polarity of the wetting liquid and the heterogeneity of the solid surface. The earlier investigations showed that application of the method of differential thermal analysis allowed determination of the distribution of the adsorption potential of the liquid on the solid surface.The author is indebted to Prof. M. Jaroniec for very fruitful discussions and to Prof. J. Choma for the activated carbon samples.     

Use of inverse gas chromatography to characterize cotton fabrics and their interactions with fragrance molecules at controlled relative humidity

The present work focused on the surface characterization and fragrance interactions of a common cotton towel at different relative humidities (RHs) using inverse gas chromatography (IGC) and dynamic vapour sorption. The sigmoidal water sorption isotherms showed a maximum of 16% (w/w) water uptake with limited swelling at 100% RH. This means that water interacts strongly with cotton and might change its initial physico-chemical properties. The same cotton towel was then packed in a glass column and characterized by IGC at different relative humidities, calculating the dispersive and specific surface energy components. The dispersive component of the surface energy decreases slightly as a function of relative humidity (42 mJ/m2 at 0% RH to 36 mJ/m2 at 80% RH) which would be expected from swelling of the humidified cotton. The Gutmann's donor constant Kd increased from 0.28 kJ/mol at 0% RH to 0.42 kJ/mol at 80% RH, indicating that a greater hydrophilic surface exists at 80% RH, which is also as expected. Water, undecane and four fragrance molecules (dimetol, benzyl acetate, decanal and phenylethanol) were used to investigate cotton-fragrance interactions between 0 and 80% RH. The adsorption enthalpies and the Henry's constants were calculated and are discussed. The higher values for the adsorption enthalpies of polar molecules such as dimetol and phenylethanol suggest the presence of hydrogen bonds as the main adsorption mechanism. The Henry's constant of dimetol was also determined by headspace gas chromatography measurements at 20% RH, giving a similar value (230 nmol/Pa g by IGC and 130 nmol/Pa g by headspace GC), supporting the usefulness of IGC for such determinations. This work confirms the usefulness of chromatographic methods to investigate biopolymers such as textiles, starches and hairs.     

Investigation of activated carbon surface heterogeneity by argon and nitrogen low-pressure quasi-equilibrium volumetry

Surface heterogeneity can be assessed by adsorption of different gaseous probes on solid materials. In the present study, four types of activated carbons were analyzed by classical N2 Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) measurements and by low-pressure quasi-equilibrium volumetry (LPQEV) (Villieras, F.; Michot, L. J.; Bardot, F.; Cases, J. M.; Francois, M.; Rudzinski, W. Langmuir 1997, 13, 1104). Three methods of data evaluation were applied: (a) the Frenkel-Halsey-Hill method for estimation of fractal dimensions from BET data, (b) the Horwath-Kawazoe method to calculate the pore size distribution from LPQEV Ar and N2 adsorption isotherms, and (c) the derivative isotherm summation (DIS) method to describe the solid's surface heterogeneity by a concept of local derivative isotherms. Similar Ar and N2 adsorption energy distributions were obtained on all carbons, which indicates the presence of mainly nonpolar surfaces. When adsorption was described by the van der Waals equation, the ratio between the interaction energy of different energetic sites with argon and nitrogen was 0.88. This value corresponded very well with a slope obtained when Ar and N2 positions of local isotherms by the DIS method were compared. This relationship has an important impact because it enables one to constrain the modeling of local isotherms. This study, besides the surface information, showed large possibilities of the DIS method for the surface analysis not only in terms of solid heterogeneity characterization but also in terms of polarity assessment.     

New approach to characterise physicochemical properties of solid substrates by inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilution. I. Some new methods to determine the surface areas of some molecules adsorbed on solid surfaces

This study was divided into three different parts that tried to give a new contribution to determine and quantify more precisely the superficial properties of solid substrates (polymers and/or oxides) obtained by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) at infinite dilution. It criticised certain of the classical methods and relationships used to determine some physico-chemical properties of a solid and gave new methods and equations that can be more precise and more realistic. Part I developed some new methods to determine the surface areas of some molecules adsorbed on solids. A theoretical calculation of surface areas of molecules adsorbed on solid substrates was proposed by using some theoretical models. Two new methods to determine the surface areas of polar molecules were developed. The first one consists of the determination of surface areas by coupling two classical methods, the dynamic contact angle and IGC techniques. The second new and general method, using the IGC technique, assumes that the specific interactions between a polar molecule and a solid proposed by Papirer and Schultz are the same. A new equation was obtained to determine the surface areas of polar molecules.