Porosimetry Analysis by Mercury Intrusion

Mercury Porosimetry is capable of measuring pores from 900 µm to 3 nm!
Mercury intrusion/extrusion is based on forcing mercury (a non-wetting liquid) into a porous structure under tightly controlled pressures.

Since mercury does not wet most substances and will not spontaneously penetrate pores by capillary action, it must be forced into the voids of the sample by applying external pressure.

The pressure required to fill the voids is inversely proportional to the size of the pores.

Only a small amount of force or pressure is required to fill large voids, whereas much greater pressure is required to fill voids of very small pores.

Mercury porosimetry can be performed on a wide variety of materials including:

• rocks
• refractory materials
• resins
• pigments
• carbons
• catalysts
• textiles
• leather
• adsorbents
• pharmaceuticals
• membranes
• filters
• ceramics
• papers
• fuel cell components
• and many other porous materials

This technique can provide calculated results including total pore volume, total pore area, median pore diameter, bulk density, skeletal density, and percent porosity.

• Mercury intrusion analysis- pore size range 360 µm to 3 nm
• Mercury intrusion and extrusion analysis (pore size range 360 µm to 3 nm)
• High-resolution macropore analysis (pore size range 900 µm to 4 µm)