Gemini

Rapid & Precise Surface Area Analysis

  • Unique balance-tube differential measurement design
  • Eliminates free space errors
  • Accurately measures the lowest surface areas with nitrogen; krypton not required
  • Fastest available dosing for shortest total measurement time

Overview

Surface area and pore volume are important physical properties that influence the quality and utility of many materials and products. Therefore, it is critically important that these characteristics be accurately determined and controlled. Likewise, knowledge of surface area and pore volume, often is an important key in understanding the formation, structure, and potential application of many natural materials.

Micromeritics’ Gemini VII 2390 Series of surface area analyzers rapidly and reliably produces accurate and repeatable surface area and pore volume results. Their low cost, speed, simplicity of use, reliability, and ruggedness have earned the Gemini a place in laboratories worldwide as an essential tool in research and quality control environments.

Why Gemini?

Unique Features

The clear advantage of the Gemini’s capabilities lie in its unique and innovative design which makes for not only a reliable and accurate instrument but also offers an easy to use operating system with intuitive reporting.

Unique Design: The Gemini Technique

A- Two gas reservoirs are filled with equal volumes of the desired adsorptive, usually nitrogen. From the reservoirs, gas is metered into the sample tube by way of a servo valve (F) that reacts to the rate of adsorption.

A third pressure transducer (D) monitors the pressure between the two reservoirs to determine the differential quantity of gas, the difference being the quantity that is adsorbed on the sample

Transducer (B) detects any pressure difference between the two tubes and causes another servo valve (C) to adjust the pressure within the balance tube to negate any pressure differential.

E- A transducer monitors pressure within the sample tube causing a fast response servo valve (F) to increase or restrict the flow of gas to the sample tube as necessary to maintain a constant equilibrium pressure within the sample tube as adsorption occurs.

Software

Superior Data Presentation Capability

Gemini analyzers can be operated from a keypad by way of embedded software or from a computer using the more-powerful and versatile Gemini Windows optional software.

The embedded software includes:

  • System verification tests
  • Single- and Multipoint BET (Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller) surface area
  • Langmuir surface area
  • Total pore volume
  • Total micropore volume and area by the t-Plot method using Halsey, Harkins-Jura, or Carbon Black STSA thickness curves
  • Horvath-Kawazoe for micropore distribution
  • BJH pore size distribution using adsorption isotherm (Gemini 2390p and 2390t only)
  • BJH adsorption and desorption isotherm, 1000 data points (Gemini 2390t only).

The easy-to-use Gemini Windows 7 interface enhances the capabilities to plan, launch, and control the analysis. You can collect, organize, archive and reduce raw data, and store standardized sample information and analysis conditions for easy access during later applications. Finished reports may be generated to screen, paper, or to files in various formats. Features include cut-and-paste graphics and tables, scalable-and-editable graphs, and customizable report formats. Using computer control, you can operate up to four Gemini analyzers simultaneously from a single computer.

Gemini Windows® Features
Gemini Windows software provides additional features not included with the embedded software.

Features such as:

  • Installation and how-to videos
  • Reduction of user-entered data
  • Automatically generated pressure tables with user-selected endpoints
  • Storage of all historical sample data for retrieval
  • User-defined pressure table
  • Summary report
  • Sample log
  • Isotherm plot overlays
  • Autoscaling x- and y-axes
  • Cut-and-paste graphics and tables
  • Data export to ASCII and spreadsheet formats
  • User-defined thickness curve (manually entered or from data file)
  • Fixed pore size tables
  • Linear and log plots (isotherm, pore volume, pore area)
  • Cumulative and differential data
  • Broekhoff-de Boer thickness curve

Also available is Confirm™ software, which addresses the many requirements specified by 21 CFR Part 11 validation, security, audit trails, reporting, and more.

Windows software with all Micromeritics’ gas adsorption instruments contains the following reports:

Isotherm Reports:

  • tabular
  • graphical
  • pressure composition isotherm

Isotherm modeling and surface area:

  • BET
  • Langmuir
  • Temkin
  • Freundlich

Standard isotherm models:

  • t-plot: micropore volume, micropore area, external surface area
  • alpha-s method
  • f-ratio method

Classic models for mesopore volume, area, and distribution:

  • BJH*
  • Dollimore-Heal*

Classic models for micropore distribution:

  • Dubinin-Radushkevich and Astakhov
  • Horvath-Kawazoe
  • Saito-Foley
  • Cheng-Yang
  • MP method

Density Functional Theory for pore size modeling:

  • Slit-shaped pores using N2 , Ar, or CO2
  • Cylindrical pores for alkaline exchanged zeolites using N2 or Ar
  • Cylindrical pores for hydrogen–or ammonium-exchanged zeolites using N2 or Ar
    Windows-shaped model for pillared clay

Density Functional Theory for surface energy:

  • Surface area and energy distributions using nitrogen at 77 K
  • Surface area and energy distributions using argon at 87 K

* BJH and Dollimore-Heal require the Gemini VII 2390t to take full advantage of pore size reports based upon the desorption isotherm

System Configurations

  • Gemini VII 2390a

    The Gemini VII 2390a model is ideal for rapid and accurate surface area determinations by single-point and multipoint BET and Langmuir methods. In addition, it provides standard methods for total micropore volume using the t-plot method. Included in this model’s capabilities is the ability to determine statistical thickness surface area (STSA) of carbon blacks. (Refer to ASTM D 6556, ISO/DIS 18852.2, or ISO/CD 4652-2/3.)

  • Gemini VII 2390p

    The Gemini VII 2390p model provides additional precision with the addition of a saturation pressure (Po) tube that allows the system to monitor the saturation pressure of the adsorptive on a continuous basis during an analysis using a dedicated pressure transducer. This design feature permits a rapid measurement of the adsorption isotherm to near-saturation, as well as determination of pore size distribution.

  • Gemini VII 2390t

    The Gemini VII 2390t model has all of the facilities of the 2390p with the addition of a larger dewar and longer sample tubes for extended analysis times. This provides the additional capability to measure the complete adsorption-desorption isotherm and perform pore size distribution measurements by BJH or DH using up to 1000 data points.

complete your workflow

Sample Preparation Systems

External sample preparation is recommended to provide optimal analysis throughput and quality of measurement. All basic sample preparation systems are designed with six independent stations so samples can be prepared as they become available, and so preparation does not limit analytical throughput.

Capabilities

Applicability
표면적

From 0.1 m², total; From 0.01 m²/g, specific

Pore Volume

4 x 10-6 cm³/g

Pressure Measurement
Pressure Measurement Range

0 to 950 mm Hg

P/Po Resolution

<10-4

Relative Pressure Range

0 to 1.0 P/Po (adsorption only)

Pressure Resolution

<0.1 mmHg

Accuracy and Linearity (transducer manufacturer’s specification)

Better than ± 0.5% Full Scale

Operating Environment
Temperature

10 to 35 °C (50 to 96 °F) operating; 0 to 50 °C (32 to 122 °F) non-operating

Humidity

20% to 80% relative, non-condensing

Gases
Adsorbate

Optimized for nitrogen in a liquid nitrogen sample bath; Gemini may be used with non-corrosive adsorbate gases having vapor pressures at both room and bath temperatures that are acceptably high relative to the resolution of the 1000-mmHg pressure transducer. Typically, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, butane, methane, and other light hydrocarbons will produce useful data above absolute pressures of a few mmHg. Helium inlet also provided

Vacuum System

Vacuum source achieving 20 x 10-3 mmHg (or better) at the instrument inlet; having a device to reduce oil vapor backstreaming is recommended. The system must have an anti-suckback valve to prevent oil from being admitted into the Gemini should there be a power failure.

Sample Tube/Dewar
Standard Tube

Gemini VII 2390a and 2390p: 0.95 cm (3/8 in.) outside diameter by 15.5 cm
(6.1 in) with 6.5 cm³ of volume. Sample capacity is approximately 2.0 cm³

Gemini VII 2390t: 0.95 cm (3/8 in) outside diameter by 20.5 cm
(8.1 in.) with 8.9 cm³ of volume. Sample capacity is approximately 2.0 cm³

Dewar

~ 8 hours; Gemini VII 2390a and 2390p; ~ 24 hours; Gemini VII 2390t

Electrical
Voltage

85 to 265 VAC

Frequency

50/60 Hz

Power

150 VA, operating, max. plus vacuum pump

Physical
Height

59 cm (23 in); Gemini VII 2390a and 2390p; 74 cm (29 in); Gemini VII 2390t

Width

40 cm (16 in)

Depth

51 cm (20 in)

Weight

32 kg (70 lbs); Gemini VII 2390a and 2390p; 35 kg (78 lbs); Gemini VII 2390t

Provided specifications were valid as taken from available documents at time of publication. These specifications may change without notice and are only provided as a general reference

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Gemini VII 2390

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