An analysis of the heats of adsorption of ammonia and several simple amines on zeolites MOR and MFI, based on
recent literature data, shows that these adsorption heats are determined by both chemical (heat of protonation) and
physical (confinement) factors. Confinement effects which arise from van der Waals interactions cannot be ignored as
they may represent up to 40% of the adsorption heat. Correct heats of protonation which may be related to acid
strength are only obtained when heats of confinement are deduced from adsorption heats. Heats of protonation for
ammonia do not depend much on zeolite nature for high-silica zeolites (MFI, MOR, FER). The lower value observed
for FAU confirms the existence of a media effect which appears, however, to be less important than generally reported
or presumed. The heats of protonation of several simple amines adsorbed on zeolites MFI and MOR fall in a rather
narrow range (150±10 kJ mol−1), indicating that acid–base interactions for these zeolite/base pairs are comparable.
No meaningful correlation is observed between heats of protonation and gas-phase proton affinities or aqueous heats
of protonation. The heats of protonation of ammonia and methylamines (NH3−xRx, x=1–3) show a maximum for
dimethylamine, for both MOR and MFI. This observation can be explained by a solvation effect arising from the action
of the zeolite framework as a solid solvent. These results thus show that the detailed understanding of the interaction
of bases with acid sites in zeolites necessitates a careful accounting of confinement effects arising from van der Waals
interactions and the consideration of solvation effects due to the action of the zeolite framework as a solid solvent. Our
conclusions are of general relevance for the quantification of molecular complexes in micro- and mesoporous solids and
possibly for the description of the action of enzymes. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.