title: Nitrogen adsorption on silica xerogels or the odd look of a t plot.
abstract: Nitrogen adsorption in some silica xerogels leads to t plots that cannot be interpreted by the occurrence of capillary condensation or by the filling of micropores. Their particular appearance stems from the unique columnar structure of these samples at the nanometer scale, by which the adsorbent surface has a positive curvature. A standard thermodynamic approach allows the phenomenon to be exploited to characterize the samples.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Génie Chimique, Université de Liège, B6a, Allée du 6 août, 3, B-4000, Sart Tilman, Liège, Belgium. cedric.gommes@ulg.ac.be
authors.forename: Cédric J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Gommes
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blacher
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pirard