Improved thermogravimetric determination of the specific surface area for cerium-incorporated MCM-41 materials

High-resolution thermogravimetry (HR-TGA) is often used to study thermodesorption of various adsorbates from nanoporous materials. The thermodesorption of n-butanol from cerium (1, 3 and 5%)-incorporated MCM-41 was performed in order to optimize the TG method for evaluation of the specific surface area and the volume of primary mesopores. This method can be used for a quick characterization of ordered nanoporous solids. The materials studied were synthesized hydrothermally using a surfactant templating route. The high-resolution TG/DTG curves were obtained in the range from room temperature to 300 degreesC with a heating rate of 5 degreesC min(-1) in flowing nitrogen. These curves allow one to estimate quite accurate values of the specific surface area and the volume of primary mesopores, which are in a good agreement with those evaluated from low-temperature nitrogen adsorption isotherms. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.