Abstract
We analyze the acid-base strength of oxide surfaces, in the light of quantum calculations of proton and hydroxyl group adsorption on oxides presenting a wide range of ionicities and surface orientations. The parameters which determine the values of the charge transfers, adsorption energies and structural properties of surface OH groups are discussed and related to the indicators generally used to quantify acid-base reaction strength in adhesion science, heterogeneous catalysis and colloid physics.