ANALYSIS OF THE ADSORPTION OF ALKANES ON HIGH SURFACE-AREA CELLULOSE BY INVERSE GAS-CHROMATOGRAPHY

The adsorption characteristics of alkanes on high surface area cellulose were investigated by inverse gas chromatography. The enthalpy and entropy of adsorption of alkanes on the solvent exchanged cellulose were greater than the values on nonporous cellulose. The difference in the heats of adsorption of alkanes between the non-porous and the solvent exchanged cellulose was greater for larger molecules indicating stronger interaction for the higher alkanes in the pore structure. For n-hexane the differences in enthalpy and entropy of adsorption were 17 kJ/mole and 52 J/mole K, respectively. The London component of the surface free energy of adsorption was 116 mN/m for the solvent exchanged cellulose.