Determination of the molar absorption coefficients of the CH3 bending mode at ν˜ =1380 cm-1 (ϵ1380 ) of n-hexane adsorbed from the gas phase on two different dealuminated zeolites is derived by a combination of IR spectroscopy and microgravimetric analysis. High-silica zeolite Y (HSZ-Y) and zeolite ZSM-5 (with SiO2 /Al2 O3 ratios of 200 and 280, respectively) with different textural and surface features are selected to evaluate the effect of the pore structure and architecture on the value of ϵ1380 of the adsorbed n-hexane. Experimental data indicate that the molecule experiences a different adsorption environment inside zeolites; thus resulting in a significant change of the dipole moment and very different ϵ1380 values: (0.278±0.018) cm μmol-1 for HSZ-Y and (0.491±0.032) cm μmol-1 for ZSM-5. Experimental data are also supported by computational modeling, which confirms the effect of different matrices on the IR absorption intensity. This study reveals that the use of probe molecules for quantitative measurements of surface sites has to be judiciously adopted, especially if adsorption occurs in the restricted spaces of microporous materials.
Keywords: FTIR spectroscopy; adsorption; microporous materials; molar absorption coefficients; zeolites.
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