Single-Stage Cryogenic Refrigerator Based on the Gifford-McMahon Principle
Surface Area, Porosity, Chemisorption, and Temperature Programmed Methods
The 3Flex high-performance gas adsorption analyzer is the most advanced instrument for measuring surface area, pore size, and pore volume of powders and particulate materials. The 3Flex is ideally suited for gas or vapor adsorption analysis of microporous (< 2 nm) and mesoporous (2 to 50 nm) materials and delivers superior accuracy, resolution and data reduction. Standard methods or user-customized protocols can be used to characterize adsorbents, catalysts, zeolites, MOFs, APIs, excipients, and a wide variety of porous and non-porous materials.
Available chemisorption configurations extend the 3Flex to physical and chemical adsorption methods to characterize the texture and active surface of catalysts, catalyst supports, sensors and a variety of other materials.
The 3Flex features three parallel analysis ports. One port is configured with an ultra-high sensitivity 0.1 torr transducer to enable characterization to the ultra-micropore region. All three ports can be configured for micropore analysis to improve throughput for the most demanding labs. The Flex is a single-port configuration of the 3Flex for labs with limited throughput needs.
The 3Flex is the premier platform for gas adsorption measurements, delivering a complete portfolio of capabilities for advanced physisorption measurements.
Expand the 3Flex’s analytical reach with chemisorption capabilities that include static chemisorption, dynamic chemisorption, and pulse chemisorption to measure specific surface chemistries.
With the addition of the integrated thermal conductivity detector (TCD), the 3Flex can deliver highly accurate dynamic chemisorption analyses: temperature programmed reduction (TPR), oxidation (TPO), desorption (TPD), and reactions (TPRx). Investigate temperature-dependence of specific adsorption or desorption process profiles for catalysts and adsorbents.
The TCD Loop option further unlocks pulse chemisorption for measurements of active surface area and an automated injection loop.
Innovative design allows complete switch between physisorption and chemisorption analysis in minutes.
The ultra-stable leak-free manifold design provides the ideal environment for low pressure measurements, as low as 10-9 p/p0. Embedded temperature control to 45°C ± 0.05°C and measurement with three carefully positioned RTD’s ensures the highest gas volume accuracy. The result is high accuracy isotherms over the widest range of analysis pressures, ensuring complete and reliable characterization from meso- to ultramicro-pore sizes.
Unique computer-controlled servo-valve technology ensures dosing accuracy, especially at low analysis pressures where traditional designs struggle to deliver accurate doses. Advanced dosing controls allow for the seamless combination of dosing by pressure and volume increments. The result is the highest resolution isotherms with the shortest analysis time.
The 3Flex is ideally suited to studies of vapor sorption. Every instrument features a manifold that is controlled to 45 °C, ±0.05 °C to prevent condensation during vapor dosing. An available heated vapor source extends the range of available analysis vapors. An extensive library of fluid properties for more than 80 fixed gases and vapors are included to maximize the analysis capabilities. Isotherm data are easily collected using hydrocarbons as the adsorptive.
Advanced experimental controls allow you to easily design measurements that meet your needs for accuracy, speed, and experimental conditions.
For studies that require particularly aggressive gas compositions, a special version of the 3Flex is available with enhanced corrosion resistance (ECR). Wetted materials are constructed from highly resistant Hastelloy, stable perfluoroelastomers, and inert-coated stainless steel to provide the greatest stability under the harshest working conditions.
Superior Chemisorption Hardware Versatility
Up to sixteen-inlet* gas manifold is standard with the chemisorption capability. Flow control during sample activation utilizes a mass flow controller (MFC) for precise and repeatable sample preparation. The MFC is included with all chemisorption configurations.
* TCD with Loop configuration
In situ Chemisorption Sample Preparation and Activation
In situ preparation and activation provide a fully automated method that does not require user intervention and fully integrates activation and analysis into one simple-to-use application. Flexible pre-treatment options allow for reduction, oxidation, evacuation, and purging
The NLDFT Advanced PSD, Dual DFT modeling allows the user to combine the information gathered from nitrogen/argon and carbon dioxide, hydrogen, or oxygen isotherms to deliver a full pore size distribution on materials (such as carbon slit pores) where pores of molecular sizes are present. The range of pore size analysis in this method is extended to smaller pore sizes compared to the standard nitrogen analysis. This is due to the fact that CO2, H2, and O2 can access ultra-micropores that are not accessible to N2 at cryogenic temperatures because of diffusion limitations. The faster diffusion time of CO2 and H2or O2 also means that overall micropore analysis time is reduced compared to a complete isotherm based on N2 or Ar.
This advanced NLDFT method allows you to determine the pore size distribution of your sample using
two isotherms. In this example, CO2 adsorption (green) at 77 K and N2 (red) are used to calculate a single pore-size distribution. You do not have to cut and paste distributions from CO2 and nitrogen—a single distribution is determined using both isotherms.
MicroActive for the 3Flex includes a powerful utility that permits you to construct a single pore size distributions from combined data from mercury porosimetry and gas adsorption measurements. This new import function allows you to rapidly view micropore, mesopore, and macropore distributions in a single application.
High resolution gas adsorption isotherms with the world’s best low pressure sensitivity Vapor sorption analyses
Repeated adsorption/desorption
Static chemisorption analysis
Accurate, stable furnace to 1100°C
Integrated sample prep and activation including mass flow controller
Dynamic chemisorption including temperature-programmed analyses
Injection port, cold trap, and new analysis protocols in MicroActive to support dynamic chemisorption analyses: TPR, TPO, TPD, TPRx
Pulse chemisorption adds increased precision, repeatability, and reproducibility by the addition of an injector loop valve with two loop options in addition to four gas inlets, a restrictor for flow control and an industry exclusive; local temperature measurement/control at loop injection
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.
| 3Flex Physisorption Only | 3Flex Chemisorption |
| Analysis Range | 1.3 x 10-9 to 1.0 P/P0 1 x 10-6 to 900 torr |
| Parallel physisorption analysis ports | 3Flex: 3 Flex: 1 |
| Available Micropore Ports | up to 3 | up to 3, one port dual purpose chemisorption and physisorption |
| Dosing and Evacuation Control | Proprietary Servo valve Dosing control by pressure or volume |
| Roughing Pump | 4 stage diaphragm |
| Krypton Analysis | Standard 1 port, optional up to 3 ports |
| Simultaneous Analysis Gases | Up to 3 gases concurrently, one probe gas on each port |
| Minimum Measurable Surface Area | Standard 0.01 m2 /g Krypton 0.0005 m2 /g |
| Manifold Temperature Control | 45 °C, ±0.05 °C with 3 strategically placed RTDs |
| Adsorptive Gas Inlets | 6 | 12 standard; optional up to 16 |
| Vapor Sorption | Ports 1 and 2: Standard Port 3: optional with heated vapor source |
| Furnace | N/A | Ambient to 1100°C Programmable from 0.1 to 50 °C/min |
| Mass Flow Controller | N/A | Standard, flow up to 200 cm3/min |
| TCD & cold trap for TPx | N/A | Optional |
| Automated Loop for pulse chemisorption | N/A | Optional |
| Dedicated Port for Residual Gas Analysis by MS or FTIR | N/A | Included |
| Mass Spec or other external system software interface control | Included | Included |
| Degas | 3 in situ, 6 additional with dedicated prep system |
| Pressure Transducer System | up to 12 |
| Transducer Accuracy | 1000 torr 0.12% reading 10 torr 0.12% reading 0.1 torr 0.15% reading |
| 3Flex Physisorption Only | 3Flex Chemisorption |
| Analysis Range | 1.3 x 10-9 to 1.0 P/P0 1 x 10-6 to 900 torr |
| Parallel physisorption analysis ports | 3Flex: 3 Flex: 1 |
| 3Flex Physisorption Only | 3Flex Chemisorption |
| Analysis Range | 1.3 x 10-9 to 1.0 P/P0 1 x 10-6 to 900 torr |
| Parallel physisorption analysis ports | 3Flex: 3 Flex: 1 |
| 3Flex Physisorption Only | 3Flex Chemisorption |
| Analysis Range | 1.3 x 10-9 to 1.0 P/P0 1 x 10-6 to 900 torr |
| Parallel physisorption analysis ports | 3Flex: 3 Flex: 1 |
| Available Micropore Ports | up to 3 | up to 3, one port dual purpose chemisorption and physisorption |
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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