Experimental Data Contributing to the Elusive Surface Charge of Inert Materials in Contact with Aqueous Media

We studied the charging of inert surfaces (polytetrafluoroethylene, i.e., PTFE; graphite; graphene; and hydrophobic silica) using classical colloid chemistry approaches. Potentiometric titrations showed that these surfaces acquired less charge from proton-related reactions than oxide minerals. The data from batch-type titrations for PTFE powder did not show an effect of ionic strength, which was also in contrast with results for classical colloids. In agreement with classical colloids, the electrokinetic results for inert surfaces showed the typical salt level dependence. In some cases, the point of zero net proton charge as determined from mass and tentatively from acid-base titration differed from isoelectric points, which has also been previously observed, for example by Chibowski and co-workers for ice electrolyte interfaces. Finally, we found no evidence for surface contaminations of our PTFE particles before and after immersion in aqueous solutions. Only in the presence of NaCl-containing solutions did cryo-XPS detect oxygen from water. We believe that our low isoelectric points for PTFE were not due to impurities. Moreover, the measured buffering at pH 3 could not be explained by sub-micromolar concentrations of contaminants. The most comprehensive explanation for the various sets of data is that hydroxide ion accumulation occurred at the interfaces between inert surfaces and aqueous solutions.

Automated summary

The study found that inert surfaces like PTFE acquired less charge from proton-related reactions compared to oxide minerals. Surprisingly, the data from batch-type titrations for PTFE did not show an effect of ionic strength, in contrast with classical colloids. The accumulation of hydroxide ions at the interfaces between inert surfaces and aqueous solutions was proposed as a comprehensive explanation for the various sets of data.