Adsorption of boric acid trimethyl ester on silica surface studied by FT-IR spectroscopy

Adsorption of boric acid trimethyl ester BATE.on high-surface-area silica has been studied by FT-IR spectroscopy. It is found that surface hydroxyls remaining after outgassing at high temperatures act as weak basic sites for BATE adsorption. Coordinate interaction of BATE with isolated hydroxyls dominates the adsorption and induces two splitting B–O vibrational bands at 1375 and 1345 cmy1. In addition, a small amount of BATE reacts with hydrogen-bonded hydroxyls and strained oxygen generated after high-temperature dehydroxylation. q1998 Elsevier Science B.V.