Application of interference microscopy and IR microscopy for characterizing and investigating mass transport in nanoporous materials

The application of interference microscopy has provided an important breakthrough in the study of the transport of guest molecules in nanoporous materials, making it possible to observe the transient intracrystalline concentration profiles resulting from a well-defined change (usually a step) in the ambient gas pressure. This approach was used to study adsorption and desorption kinetics in several zeolite systems. The advantages of this technique, especially when combined with infrared absorption measurements, are illustrated by experimental results obtained in a study of the methanol-ferrierite system.