New approach to characterise physicochemical properties of solid substrates by inverse gas chromatography at infinite dilution. I. Some new methods to determine the surface areas of some molecules adsorbed on solid surfaces.

This study was divided into three different parts that tried to give a new contribution to determine and quantify more precisely the superficial properties of solid substrates (polymers and/or oxides) obtained by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) at infinite dilution. It criticised certain of the classical methods and relationships used to determine some physico-chemical properties of a solid and gave new methods and equations that can be more precise and more realistic. Part I developed some new methods to determine the surface areas of some molecules adsorbed on solids. A theoretical calculation of surface areas of molecules adsorbed on solid substrates was proposed by using some theoretical models. Two new methods to determine the surface areas of polar molecules were developed. The first one consists of the determination of surface areas by coupling two classical methods, the dynamic contact angle and IGC techniques. The second new and general method, using the IGC technique, assumes that the specific interactions between a polar molecule and a solid proposed by Papirer and Schultz are the same. A new equation was obtained to determine the surface areas of polar molecules.