. (2016) The application of inelastic neutron scattering to investigate the interaction of methyl propanoate with silica. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 18(26), pp. 17210-17216. (doi:10.1039/C6CP01276K) This is the author's final accepted version.There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher's version if you wish to cite from it.http://eprints.gla.ac.uk/119093/ e.g. caesium nitrate supported on high surface area silica. 5 The reaction is thought to be an example of base catalysis, with the catalyst presenting basic sites that control the chemisorption and subsequent reaction of the two reagents. However, a survey of the literature indicates a paucity of work examining the interaction of oxygenates and esters in particular on oxide surfaces. Preliminary studies on silicas similar to that used with the Alpha process are believed to indicate the presence of both weak Brønsted acid and Brønsted base sites, 2 although the evidence for these assertions is not in the public domain.This paper is divided into two parts. To our knowledge, methyl propanoate has been neither structurally nor spectroscopically characterised; thus, Part 1 provides a comprehensive description of the solid state structure and vibrational spectroscopy of methyl propanoate in the gas, liquid and solid phases, with assignments supported by periodic density functional theory (DFT). In Part 2 we characterise the adsorption of methyl propanoate on a representative silica (Fuji Q-10 silica spheres). Previous work by Jackson and coworkers examined the adsorption of acetic acid on this particular silica, as well as Cs-doped Q-10, with the latter constituting model methyl methacrylate synthesis catalysts. 6 That work followed on from a patent filed in 1999 by Jackson and co-workers at ICI (UK) entitled 'novel catalyst for manufacture of ethylenically unsaturated acids or esters, especially for manufacture of methyl methacrylate'. 7 Silica spheres, as opposed to silica powder, are attractive to industrial use as bulk handling properties are simplified. Against this background, Fuji Q-10 silica is examined in this communication. The combined structural and spectroscopic