Sorption Isotherm Reconstruction and Extraction of Pore Size Distributions for Serially Connected Pore Model (SCPM) Structures Employing Algorithmic and Statistical Models

Valiullin et al. [J. Phys. Chem. C 2019, 123, 16239] have developed a statistical theory describing adsorption/desorption hysteresis in one-dimensional pore structures with structural disorder. The theory captures the behavior of such systems based on simple rules for the phase transformations in individual pores together with assumptions about the role of pore connectivity. To test this theory, we have developed an algorithmic method for exact construction of sorption isotherms for chains of pores from single pore isotherms. We show that the predictions of the statistical theory are indeed very accurate. We have used the statistical theory to extract the pore size distribution (PSD) and chain lengths using both adsorption and desorption branches of the isotherm obtained by the algorithmic model on various pore structures. The predicted PSD’s and chain lengths are in excellent agreement with the actual properties of the original structures. We conclude that the statistical theory offers a new direction toward a more accurate characterization methodology of nanoporous materials.