I have synthesized a series of porous organic polymers by tuning the linker length and observed a trend of variation of surface area (ultramicroporous, high surface area to mesoporous, low surface area) . I want to know that the pores of the polymers are interconnected or isolated from each other. TEM and SEM images are not as clear as to state that the pores are interconnected. Is there any techniques to prove the pore connectivity other than SEM and TEM? Is there any concept based on the BET isotherm analysis to prove that the pores are connected to each other?
It depends on what you want to determine. If you want to know whether two types of pores (e.g. ultramicropores and mesopores) are interconnected, You may get information from the analysis of the full adsorption desorption isotherm (so called "ink-bottle" shaped pores, leadind to a wide hysteresis loop. Recent (but not routine !) developments in the measurement and analysis of N2 sorption isotherms could help you:
Article Quantifying the Complex Pore Architecture of Hierarchical Fa...
In addition to Juliette's answer, I recommend to compare your BET with typical isotherm shapes classified by IUPAC. Perhaps, it can also provide you some evidence.
https://www.iupac.org/publications/pac-2007/1982/pdf/5411x2201.pdf
Cheers,
Andrey
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