Pore size determination by thermoporometry using acetonitrile

Thermoporometry by DSC is an alternative pore characterisation method to the mercury intrusion and gas sorption techniques. The method allows the study of porous materials in the liquid state. In this study, thermoporometry was performed using acetonitrile as the solvent. The technique was calibrated by using well-characterised polystyrene/DVB samples. For acetonitrile, the following relationship was found between the melting point depression (ΔT) of the solvent and the radius of the pore in which the solvent was confined: Rp (Å)=−309ΔT+13.