The ASAP® 2460 Surface Area and Porosimetry Analyzer from Micromeritics incorporates a unique expandable system designed for upgradeable high-performance and high sample throughput.
This versatile surface characterization instrument can be configured as a two-, four-, or six-station bench top system depending on the user’s throughput needs. The base ASAP 2460 is a two-port master control unit. For additional throughput, two-port auxiliary units can be connected to the master unit expanding the system to either a four-port or six-port analyzer. The instrument also includes enhanced software capabilities, data reduction features, and instrument monitoring.
Optimized for walk-up sample screening, all analysis ports can be operated independently and concurrently, allowing the user to load and unload samples at any time, regardless of the preparation or analysis stage. A new analysis can begin as soon as another is finished.
Long-duration dewars and isothermal jackets assure a stable thermal profile along the length of both the sample and the saturation pressure (Po) tubes throughout lengthy analyses. The Po value may be entered, or measured either continuously or at selected intervals. An analysis of up to 60 hours can be performed without refilling the dewar. This allows unattended analysis of high-resolution adsorption/desorption isotherms that take much longer to complete because the system must equilibrate at each data point.
Servo control for dosing and evacuation provides a higher degree of gas management and speeds the collection of data points. Up to five different nonreactive adsorptives, plus an additional gas for free space, can be attached to the analyzer simultaneously. Each analysis port can accept a range of sample tube sizes. Low surface area krypton and micropore options are available.
Intuitive MicroActive software combines user-defined reports with the ability to interactively evaluate isotherm data, reducing the time required to obtain surface area and porosity results. User selectable data ranges through the graphic interface allow direct modeling for BET, t-plot, Langmuir, DFT interpretation, and new advanced NLDFT methods. MicroActive data analysis software also includes a powerful utility that allows overlays of mercury porosimetry pore size distribution with a pore size distribution calculated from gas adsorption isotherms. An interface to the Python programming language allows users to develop extensions to the standard ASAP 2460 report library.
Dosing options added to the pressure table give the user the ability to change the pressure increment, volume dose increment, and equilibration interval time between data points. A detailed isotherm can be collected by specifying that a data point be recorded after a certain amount of gas is dosed, increasing the relative pressure by a small amount, or both. An innovative dashboard monitors and provides convenient access to real-time instrument performance indicators and maintenance scheduling information. As a result, the user can maintain the instrument in peak operating condition with real-time analysis views.