Determination of Hydrophobic Dispersive Surface Free Energy of Activated Carbon Fibers Measured by Inverse Gas Chromatographic Technique

Activated carbon fibers (ACFs) as one of the most important porous carbon materials are widely used in many applications that involve rapid adsorption and low-pressure loss, including air purification, water treatment, and electrochemical applications. For designing such fibers for the adsorption bed in gas and aqueous phases, in-depth comprehension of the surface components is crucial. However, achieving reliable values remains a major challenge due to the high adsorption affinity of ACFs. To overcome this problem, we propose a novel approach to determine London dispersive components ($\gamma SL$) of the surface free energy of ACFs by inverse gas chromatography (IGC) technique at an infinite dilution. Our data reveal the $\gamma SL$ values at 298 K for bare carbon fibers (CFs) and the ACFs to be 97 and 260–285 mJ·m⁻², respectively, which lie in the regime of secondary bonding of physical adsorption. Our analysis indicates that these are impacted by micropores and defects on the carbon surfaces. Comparing the $\gamma SL$ obtained by the traditional Gray’s method, our method is concluded as the most accurate and reliable value for the hydrophobic dispersive surface component of porous carbonaceous materials. As such, it could serve as a valuable tool in designing interface engineering in adsorption-related applications.