The interaction of a solid with its surroundings is through the available surface area for adsorption of gas or vapour molecules. This also allows probing of materials’ surface including irregularities and pores. One of the most successful methods is based on the BET method for gas adsorption onto a solid surface. The adsorption method of Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) is based on the physical adsorption of a vapour or gas onto the surface of a solid. Traditionally, sorption studies were carried out at low temperatures to obtain nitrogen isotherms at 77 K, which were then used to calculate BET surface areas. Considering that material behavior varies with temperature, measurements at ambient temperatures may be more relevant and also allow the use of various gases and vapours.

The present study is devoted to a critical investigation of the specific surface area analysis of cellulosic materials, such as freeze-dried bacterial cellulose, cellulose nanopaper and crystalline cellulose powder, by gas and vapour adsorption using dynamic vapour sorption (DVS) technique, volumetric technique and inverse Gas Chromatographic (iGC) technique. Inorganic materials including the specific surface area standard materials can be successfully measured with these techniques, however, the applicability of these techniques on organic materials have to be appraised.

About the presenter:

Anett Kondor, PhD is the iGC-SEA Product Manager and Product Specialist of Surface Measurement Systems. Since 2004, Anett has been working on gas chromatographic (GC and iGC) techniques. She studied chemical engineering at the University of Pannonia, Hungary where she received her MSc in Chemical Engineering, accredited by British Institution of Chemical Engineers, and her PhD in Chemistry and Environmental Science. She published several research work in peer-reviewed journals collaborating with research groups around the world (Deakin University – Australia, Composite Innovation Centre Canada, Teagasc Ireland, Boku University Austria, Liverpool John Moores University UK, Givaudan Switzerland and so on). Her research interest lies in the area of surface characterization of different solid materials and improvements in inverse gas chromatographic technique.