Factors Controlling the Energy of Nitrogen Monolayer Coverage onHigh Surface Area Catalyst Oxide Carriers

Factors affecting the strength of nitrogen physisorption at monolayer coverage on different catalytic oxide carriers (e.g., ZnO, MgO, Al2O3, ZrO2, TiO2, and SiO2) have been addressed. Isotherm elaboration by the two-parameter BET equation provides C-constant values (80–200) inversely related to the polarizing power (PP) of the oxide adsorbent irrespective of the surface area exposure. The energy of monolayer formation depends on the extent of charge-delocalization characterizing the surface cation-oxygen bond, which determines the acid–base character of the oxide and strength of van der Waals interactions with adsorbate molecules. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations on MgO and TiO2…