makroporer

Makroporer is a term encountered in some technical and scientific writings to denote large pore structures within a porous medium. It is not uniformly standardized in peer‑reviewed literature, and its exact meaning can vary by discipline. In many cases, makroporer is used as an alternative or informal label for macropores or macroporosity, the large-diameter pore networks that influence fluid transport and connectivity.

In soil science, macropores are channels created by biological activity, such as roots and soil fauna, and by physical processes. They typically exceed a fraction of a millimeter in diameter and enable rapid drainage and preferential flow, contributing to water infiltration, aeration, and root penetration. In materials science and engineering, large pores in polymers, ceramics, foams, and catalyst supports are also described as macropores; these features affect permeability, mass transfer, mechanical properties, and overall performance of the material. Some uses of makroporer specifically refer to artificially induced large pores created through templating, porogen leaching, or 3D printing methods.

Detection and characterization of makropores usually rely on imaging and porosity measurements. X-ray computed tomography (CT) and micro-CT provide three-dimensional visualization of pore networks, enabling pore-size distribution and connectivity analysis. Complementary techniques include mercury intrusion porosimetry and gas adsorption, depending on the pore size range of interest.

Applications of macropore or makropore networks span agriculture, filtration, environmental engineering, and materials design. Clarifying the term in any given work is important to distinguish it from related concepts such as microporosity and mesoporosity.

See also: macropore, macroporosity, porosity, pore-size distribution.