BET Surface Area Analyser (BET)

The BET theory applies to systems of multilayer adsorption and usually utilizes probing gases that do not chemically react with material surfaces as adsorbates to quantify specific surface area. Nitrogen is the most commonly employed gaseous adsorbate used for surface probing by BET methods. For this reason, standard BET analysis is most often conducted at the boiling temperature of N2 (77 K). Further probing adsorbates are also utilized, albeit with lower frequency, allowing the measurement of surface area at different temperatures and measurement scales. These have included argon, carbon dioxide, and water. Specific surface area is a scale-dependent property, with no single true value of specific surface area definable, and thus quantities of specific surface area determined through BET theory may depend on the adsorbate molecule utilized and its adsorption cross section.