Analysis of adsorbate-adsorbate and adsorbate-adsorbent interactions to decode isosteric heats of gas adsorption

A qualitative interpretation is proposed to interpret isosteric heats of adsorption by considering contributions from three general classes of interaction energy: fluid–fluid heat, fluid–solid heat, and fluid—high-energy site (HES) heat. Multiple temperature adsorption isotherms are defined for nitrogen, T=(75, 77, 79) K, argon at T=(85, 87, 89) K, and for water and methanol at T=(278, 288, 298) K on a well-characterized polymer-based, activated carbon. Nitrogen and argon are subjected to isosteric heat analyses; their zero filling isosteric heats of adsorption are consistent with slit-pore, adsorption energy enhancement modelling. Water adsorbs entirely via specific interactions, offering decreasing isosteric heat at low pore filling followed by a constant heat slightly in excess of water condensation enthalpy, demonstrating the effects of micropores. Methanol offers both specific adsorption via the alcohol group and non-specific interactions via its methyl group; the isosteric heat increases at low pore filling, indicating the predominance of non-specific interactions.