Inverse Gas Chromatography for Characterization of Adsorption Ability of Carbon–Mineral Composites for Removal of Antibiotics from Water

In this study, inverse gas chromatography (IGC) was applied to characterize the key surface physicochemical properties of carbon-mineral composites and to clarify how these properties relate to removal efficiencies of selected antibiotics, with particular emphasis on surface energetic and acid-base characteristics rather than bulk structural parameters. The dispersive component of surface free energy and the acid-base characteristics (<i>K_a</i>/<i>K_b</i> ratio) were determined, alongside measurements of carbon content, while specific surface areas were compared with data reported previously. We found that there is no clear correlation between bulk structural characteristics and the removal efficiency of ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline. In contrast, the removal of all investigated antibiotics was found to be correlated with the dispersive component of surface free energy and the <i>K_a</i>/<i>K_b</i> ratio. The results suggest that surface energetic parameters and acid-base properties are more closely associated with antibiotic adsorption behavior than basic structural characteristics alone. These findings demonstrate that IGC provides valuable insight into adsorption processes and highlight the importance of surface physicochemical properties for interpreting and predicting the adsorption properties of carbon-mineral composites.