Two different ordered mesoporous solids, a hexagonal SBA-15 silica sample and its inverse CMK-3 carbon structure were applied in liquid-phase adsorption. By means of the analysis of experimental data of a binary liquid model mixture with one polar and one non-polar component, the general way is outlined how to obtain essential and trustworthy solid information from liquid-phase adsorption. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.