Low cost automated instrumentation for the measurement of the specific surface area of powders by the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method

Abstract

An automated instrument to measure specific surface area (SSA) of powdered materials was designed using the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) isotherm method. A sample of known SSA was introduced to make the method simple, accurate, and fast. The cost of the instrument was reduced by operating the instrument at a fixed partial pressure. A piezoelectric sensor was introduced to detect the changes in gas flow rates with better sensitivity and low cost. The analyzer was used to analyze the SSA of an unknown sample, to compare the SSA of two samples, and to identify unknowns using the SSA. The error of the instrument was less than 0.1%.

Keywords:

• Specific surface area
• partial pressure
• piezoelectric sensor
• Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) isotherm method

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.