ABSTRACT
Experimental Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Alcohol-Modified Silicas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Inverse Gas Chromatography and Heat
Treatment of Silicas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380
Results and Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
London Component of the Surface Free
Energy of Heat-Treated Silicas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 381
Specific Component of the Surface Free
Energy of Heat-Treated Silicas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382
Evolution of the Surface Free Energy of Esterified
Silicas with Heat-Treatment Temperature . . . . 382
Distribution Function of Adsorption Energy . . . 383
Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384
The establishment of relationships between the surface chemistry and the surface free energy of silicas is
important for practical applications of these materials. Inverse gas chromatography, either at infinite
dilution or finite concentration, appears to be an effective method for the detection of changes of surface
properties induced by chemical or thermal treatments. Silicas of various origins (amorphous or crystalline)
with surface chemistries modified by chemical (esterification) or heat treatment were compared. The con-
sequences of these modifications on surface energetic heterogeneities were assessed.