The pore size analysis of mesoporous films by krypton adsorption

The pore structure of mesoporous membranes coated on silicon wafer was characterized by the adsorption of krypton at 77 K in this study. To establish the capillary condensation and evaporation conditions for krypton at this temperature, the adsorption of both nitrogen and krypton were first measured on a series of siliceous MCM-41, MCM-48 and SBA-15 reference samples. The adsorption and desorption transition of krypton were then correlated with the pore size deduced from the nitrogen isotherm. Finally, the obtained correlation was applied to estimate the pore size distribution of mesoporous films.