Temperature-dependent adsorption of nitrogen on porous vycor glass

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Adsorption isotherms of N₂ have been measured in the temperature range from 77 to 120 K in samples of porous vycor glass. From the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller theory the surface layer coverages are determined. These are found to be temperature dependent. When adsorption-isotherm coverage data are expressed as a function of the adsorption potential {δ}{μ}, the result is roughly temperature independent for coverages ranging from submonolayer to thin film, below capillary condensation. This characteristic curve, which represents the distribution of adsorption sites vs the adsorption potential, is compared with results from two models for the adsorbate: Dubinin's isotherm for microporous solids and its extension to rough surfaces, which places importance on the porosity of the surface, and Halsey's extension of the Frankel-Halsey-Hill isotherm, which takes into account the long-range variations of the substrate adsorption potential. The impact of this work on the interpretation of N₂ adsorption data in terms of a surface area is discussed.