Investigation of the Surface Properties of Hexagonal Boron Nitride and Boron Phosphate by Inverse Gas Chromatography at Infinite Dilution

Abstract

Abstract The boron-based ceramics namely hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and boron phosphate (BPO4) were synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The surface properties of h-BN and BPO4 were examined by inverse gas chromatography method. The dispersive surface energy and the acidic-basic character of h-BN, and BPO4 surfaces were estimated by the retention time with probes such as n-hexane, n-heptane, n-octane, n-nonane, n-decane, acetone, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, chloroform and tetrahydrofuran at infinite dilution region. The dispersive surface free energies calculated using both Schultz and Dorris–Gray methods, decreased linearly with increasing temperature. The specific adsorption free energy and the specific adsorption enthalpy corresponding to acid–base surface interactions were determined. By correlating with the donor and acceptor numbers of the probes, the acidic and the basic parameters of the h-BN and BPO4 were calculated. The values obtained for and parameters indicated that h-BN has a basic character, whereas BPO4 has an acidic character.