Micro-imaging of liquid–vapor phase transition in nano-channels

• We study adsorption and desorption in nanostructured mesoporous silicon.
• We employ IR microscopy to study the sorption processes.
• We obtain spatial-temporal dependence of guest concentration.

Mesoporous silicon accommodating structured nano-channels is employed as a host material for recording the evolution of liquid–vapor phase transitions in nanoporous materials upon molecular adsorption and desorption. Analysis is based on the application of micro-imaging via IR microscopy revealing the spatial-temporal dependence of guest concentrations within the material as a function of the chosen pressure steps. In this way, phase transitions become observable in the context of their local environment and may be correlated with the pore architecture by immediate experimental evidence.

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