The use of ordered mesoporous materials for improving the mesopore size analysis: Current state and future

摘要

In 1997 a simple approach to an accurate calculation of mesopore size distributions was proposed on the basis of model gas adsorption isotherms for ordered mesoporous materials (OMMs), whose pore diameters were evaluated independently from adsorption pore size analysis. This approach was originally developed for nitrogen adsorption at 77 K on silicas with cylindrical pores, and recently extended to argon adsorption at 77 and 87 K, as well as to adsorption on materials with hydrophobic surfaces. The method to calculate the pore size distributions (PSDs) from nitrogen data at 77 K has already attracted much interest and has been implemented by several researchers working in the field of OMMs. Herein, the current state and future perspectives in the development of accurate methods for PSD calculation using OMMs as model adsorbents are discussed. The development of these methods requires the availability of OMMs with as wide range of pore diameters as possible, and therefore the progress and challenges in the synthesis of such materials are overviewed. Recent advances in the development of reliable and independent methods for the OMM pore size assessment, necessary for elaboration of the aforementioned methods for the PSD calculation, are reviewed. The current status and prospects for the development of OMM-calibrated methods for the pore size analysis of different kinds of mesoporous materials are discussed.