Special Issue "Advances in Physicochemical Characterizations by Inverse Gas Chromatography"

Dear Colleagues,

Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) has become a popular technique for carrying out physicochemical measurements and the surface characterization of various materials, as well as studying interfacial interactions. The main aspect which distinguishes IGC from conventional GC is that the material under investigation is placed in the chromatographic column and a known probe vapour is injected. This interaction with the stationary phase provides information about its surface properties.

Despite its establishment since the 1950s, IGC is still an evolving technology in the field of characterization for polymers, blends, minerals, modified fillers, fibres, foods and pharmaceutical powders. Surface properties impact the bulk and interfacial behaviour of studied solids. For anisotropic materials, IGC is able to characterize the heterogeneity.

Gas chromatographic flow perturbation methods, such as the reversed-flow technique (RF-GC), permit the determination of various physicochemical quantities, related to gas–liquid as well as gas–solid interactions. The main aspect which distinguishes RF-GC from conventional GC is the use of an additional column called diffusion column place in the middle of the usual column, which permits studying slow rate processes, without being affected by carrier gas flow rate. The material under investigation is also the liquid or solid stationary phase, classifying RF-GC in IGC techniques. Among others, RF-GC has been utilized for measuring diffusion coefficients and mass-transfer coefficients across the gas–liquid interface, as well as the characterization of porous solids.

Dr. Dimitrios Gavril
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• inverse gas chromatography
• reversed-flow gas chromatography
• physicochemical measurements
• materials characterization
• solubility parameters
• surface activity
• surface heterogeneity
• interphase
• diffusion coefficients
• mass-transfer coefficients
• adsorption