Abstract
The paper deals with the systematic gas adsorption investigation and structural characterization of novel ordered mesoporous silica materials with three-dimensional (3-D) cubic Ia3d structure (KIT-6). The pore condensation and hysteresis behavior of nitrogen (at 77.4 K) and argon (at 77.4 K and 87.3 K) was studied in KIT-6 silicas of different porosities and various mean pore diameters (from 5 nm up to 11 nm). We compared the sorption and phase behavior of nitrogen and argon confined to these 3-D cubic porous systems with their behavior in pseudo 1-D pore systems (e.g. SBA-15). Our results provide information on how pore connectivity and network effects influence pore condensation and hysteresis, and the validity of the single pore model for the pore size analysis of materials consisting in pore networks is discussed. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.