Comparing Gas Adsorbates for Pore-Structure Characterisation of Nanoporous Materials
Nanoporous materials such as zeolites, activated carbons, and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) feature abundant microporosity and play central roles in adsorption, catalysis, and separations.(1,2) Accurately resolving pore size distributions, micropore volumes, and accessible surface areas is therefore essential for materials design and process modeling. Gas physisorption remains the primary technique for this purpose because it probes adsorption–desorption behavior over a wide relative-pressure window spanning low pressures (below 0.1 Pa) through saturation near the adsorbate’s boiling point.(3) Reliable measurements in this regime require high vacuum instrumentation capable of evacuating the manifold and sample cell to very low absolute pressures with stable temperature control.
