Characterization of Liquid-Solid Adsorption Systems by Using TLC Data

Abstract

The thin-layer chromatography (TLC) method is used to measure the excess adsorption isotherms for different binary liquid mixtures on silica gel. These isotherms are interpreted by means of the Langmuir-Freundlich equation, which involves the adsorbent heterogeneity and the difference in the molecular sizes of the components. This equation makes possible the evaluation of the surface phase capacity, equilibrium constant and heterogeneity parameter, which characterize liquid-solid adsorption systems.