Center for Functional Nanomaterials Seminar

In the field of Materials Science, materials with pores in the nanometer range play an important role due to their diverse applications, mainly in the fields of Energy, Health, and the Environment. One of the fundamental characteristics of these materials is their texture, which refers to their specific surface area, pore volume, and pore size distribution. The most widely used technique to characterize these properties is gas adsorption, particularly nitrogen adsorption at 77K; nevertheless, other gases, such as argon at 87K and carbon dioxide at 273K, are used. In the study of textural characterization, the unique experiment is the obtention of the adsorption-desorption isotherm, which deserves special attention since its shape can be used to obtain enriching information. Models are used, and geometries are assumed based on the experimental data, which specifically depend on the characteristics of the samples and the analysis regions. In this talk, essential details of the technique will be highlighted, specifying the experimental aspects to obtain reproducible results as precisely as the experiment allows, highlighting the most accepted models applicable to various nanoporous materials, following what was proposed by the IUPAC. Bio: Dr. Karim Sapag is a physicist specializing in nanoporous materials, with a Ph.D. in Sciences from the Autonomous University of Madrid and a long-standing academic career at the National University of San Luis (UNSL), Argentina. He founded and directs the Porous Solids Laboratory (LabSoP) at UNSL and is a senior investigator at CONICET. Widely recognized in Iberoamerica for his expertise in gas adsorption methods, Dr. Sapag has led numerous research projects, mentored over two dozen graduate students, and authored around 200 peer-reviewed publications. He is currently a Fulbright Scholar in Residence at the University of Missouri.