The physics of capillary condensation in disordered mesoporous materials: A unifying theoretical description

We present a unifying theoretical approach of capillary condensation in disordered mesoporous materials. It provides a comprehensive picture of this phenomenon that accounts for processes occuring on all length scales and clarifies the relation between hysteretic and equilibrium behavior. The shape of the hysteresis loop is shown to depend on the presence or absence of out-of-equilibrium phase transitions, whose nature differs on adsorption and on desorption.