Replacing the Langmuir Isotherm with the Statistical Thermodynamic Fluctuation Theory.

Abstract

In the age of all-atom simulations, primitive isotherm models, such as Langmuir, BET, and GAB, are still used widely for analyzing experimental data. However, their routine applications to complex materials are not in line with their underlying assumptions (i.e., statistically independent adsorption sites with no interfacial structural changes), which manifests as the temperature dependence of the monolayer capacity. Our proposal is to replace these models with the statistical thermodynamic fluctuation theory because the ABC isotherm derived from it (i) contains these primitive models as its special cases, (ii) is applicable to any interfacial geometry, and (iii) is linked to molecular distribution functions, sharing the same language as simulations. Rectifying the inability of the primitive isotherm models to handle attractive and repulsive interactions consistently leads to a reconsideration of how physical interpretations should be attributed to the isotherms of empirical origin (e.g., Freundlich).