Porosity characterization of solid materials
Researcher: Diana Lazăr
Keywords: surface area, pore size, porous structure.
Description
The determination of the porosity parameters of solid materials – surface area, pore volume and pore size – is carried out using isothemal adsorption/desorption of nitrogen molecules on the solid surface technique.
The advantages of this method are:
- high versatility – it is possible to measure the surface of any solid with an area higher than 1 m2/g regardless of its chemical composition, whether it is nanostructured or not, whether or not functional groups are present on the surface, etc.
- the wealth of information that can be extracted from adsorption/desorption isotherms: surface area, the presence of micropores or mesopores, total pore volume and/or categorized, pore size distribution, pore shape information.
Applications
Areas of application:
- structural characterization of any produced solid material
- production – both at the optimization stage of the production process and for the quality control of the obtained product
Systems:
- oxide materials with various applications: pigments (e.g. ZnO), catalysts (e.g. Al2O3)
- materials with applications in adsorption processes: activated carbon, natural zeolites, dolomite
- materials with thermal insulating properties
Industries: environment-pollution, chemical industry.
Infrastructure
The heterogeneous catalysis laboratory is equipped with a BelSorp MaxX equipment (Microtrac BEL Corporation) capable of recording nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms at a constant temperature of -196°C. The apparatus also includes a temperature-controllable vacuum degassing module.
Advantages
INCDTIM offers CDI services for surface area and porosity determination, used alone or in combination with other solid characterization techniques (X-ray diffraction, optical and electron microscopy), covering almost the full range of structural characterization.
Prior to entering into a contractual relationship we provide consultancy to define as accurately as possible the needs of the client/partner and, if required, we carry out preliminary tests free of charge.
Our existing equipment and experience allows us to measure most porous solids.
We have specialized staff in highly prestigious research centers abroad, able to cover with the highest professionalism all the stages of a contractual collaboration: definition of the problem to be solved, experimental design, data collection, interpretation of results and their correlation with other complementary information, if necessary.
Estimated costs
The cost of a determination is 375 lei/test and consists of:
time of use of the apparatus;
labor, which includes personnel and indirect costs associated with sample preparation, analysis and interpretation of results, preparation of the analysis/research report.