The surfaces of natural (NZ) and zeolite/iron oxyhydroxide composite (ZFe)
samples were analyzed by means of inverse gas chromatography (IGC) using
adsorption data of organic non-polar and polar probes, in the infinite and
finite-dilution regimes, in the temperature range 483-513 K. The dispersive
components of the free energy of adsorption, ?S, determined by the Gray
method, decreased with increasing temperature for both zeolites. The
specific interactions were characterized by the specific free adsorption
energy, ?GaS , the specific enthalpy of adsorption, ?HaS , as well as the
donor and acceptor interaction parameters (KA, KD) and the basic character
of the NZ and ZFe was evidenced. The adsorption isotherms of n-hexane
(n-C6H14), benzene (C6H6), chloroform (CHCl3) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) were
determined under finite surface coverage and used to estimate the specific
surface area and the adsorption energy distribution. The adsorption capacity
of the ZFe was higher than for NZ for all the investigated adsorbates. The
specific surface areas and pore size distributions were also determined
using nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms, i.e., the BET method. It was
observed that the nature of the adsorbate and the properties of the solid
surface of the initial and modified samples governed the uptake of
adsorbates.