Organic solutes adsorption, from aqueous electrostatic interaction

Figure 11.1. Schematic views of various ways in which an organic chemical, i, may sorb to natural inorganic solids (a) adsorption from air to surfaces with limited water presence, (b) partitioning from aqueous solutions to the layer of vicinal water adjacent to surfaces that serves as an absorbent liquid, (c) adsorption from aqueous solution to specific surface sites due to electron donor-acceptor interactions, (d) adsorption of charged molecules from aqueous solution to complementarily charged surfaces due to electrostatic attractions, and (e) chemisorption due to surface bonding or inner sphere complex formation.

Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Surfaces. Water is a small, highly polar molecular and it is therefore strongly adsorbed on a polar surface as a result of the large contribution from the electrostatic forces. Polar adsorbents such as most zeoHtes, siUca gel, or activated alumina therefore adsorb water more strongly than they adsorb organic species, and, as a result, such adsorbents are commonly called hydrophilic. In contrast, on a nonpolar surface where there is no electrostatic interaction water is held only very weakly and is easily displaced by organics. Such adsorbents, which are the only practical choice for adsorption of organics from aqueous solutions, are termed hydrophobic. 

This chapter shows that a unified explanation can be given of the adsorption from dilute aqueous solutions of different organic solutes, from nonelectrolytes to electrolytes, polyelectrolytes, and bacteria. Thus, the adsorption process is a complex interplay between electrostatic and nonelectrostatic interactions. Electrostatic interactions depend on the solution pH and ionic strength. The former controls the charge on the carbon surface and on the adsorptive... 

Adsorption of organic molecules from dilute aqueous solutions on carbon materials is a complex interplay between electrostatic and non-electrostatic interactions. Electrostatic interactions appear with electrolytes, essentially when they are ionized at the experimental conditions used. Non-electrostatic interactions are essentially due to dispersion and hydrophobic interactions. The surface chemistry of the carbon has a major influence on both electrostatic and non-electrostatic interactions, and can be considered as the main factor in the adsorption mechanism from dilute aqueous solutions. 

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