Surface characterization of ashtree wood meal by inverse gas chromatography

Inverse gas chromatography (IGC) is a sensitive and convenient method to characterize surface properties and thermodynamic parameters of solid materials. Surface properties of ashtree wood meal were determined by inverse gas chromatography in this work. The dispersive component of the surface free energy and acid-base parameters of the ashtree wood meal were characterized. The dispersive component of surface free energy was within 36-39 mJ/m2, the Lewis acidic number Ka was 0.53, and the basic number Kb was 0.21, respectively. The results show that ashtree is amphoteric and predominantly acidic wood.