The role of surface heterogeneity and lateral interactions in the adsorption of volatile organic compounds on rutile surface

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are pollutants of great interest because they are very harmful for both human health and the environment, even at very low concentrations. In this work we present and discuss the results of the experimental chromatographic study of the role of surface heterogeneity and lateral interactions in the adsorption of volatile organic compounds – ethanol, acetaldehyde and acetone – on the surface of rutile (TiO2), a typical oxide widely used as a white pigment and a photocatalyst, as well. The ethanol, acetaldehyde and acetone were chosen because they contain the same heteroatom (O) and they have small carbon-chains. The novel method of Reversed Flow-Inverse Gas Chromatography is used, which has a powerful mathematical background and comprises a simple experimental arrangement for the determination of energetic physicochemical quantities directly from the experimental data, by means of a time-resolved analysis. In particular, several important physicochemical quantities are determined, as local adsorption energy, local adsorption isotherm, local monolayer capacity, non-adsorbed gaseous concentration of adsorbate, density probability function for the adsorption energy values, as well as the differential energy of adsorption due to lateral interactions among molecules adsorbed on the heterogeneous solid surface of TiO2. By means of these quantities, appropriate answers are achieved to critical questions of: (a) What is the type of the adsorption isotherm of a system? (b) Where are the adsorbed molecules located on the heterogeneous surface? (c) What is the nature of the surface bonds? (d) What is the type of non-ideality of the system and (e) How does the adsorbate affect the adsorbent properties?