ELECTROCHEMISTRY OF THE BOEHMITE WATER INTERFACE

The surface charge and the zeta potential of boehmite have been determined as a function of pH and KNO3 concentration. The two-pk triple-layer site-binding model has been used to describe the electrical properties of the boehmite-water interface. The surface charge and the zeta potential have been simultaneously calculated using this model and are in good agreement with the experimental data. The independent parameters pertaining to this site-binding model have been extracted by using a graphical extrapolation method as well as a computational method. The results obtained from these two methods, as well as from other oxides, are critically compared and discussed. The p.z.c. and i.e.p. of boehmite are found at a pH of 8.5 and 9.1, respectively. © 1990.