The mechanism of n-heptane evaporation from mesoporous MCM-41 silica was investigated by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). Experiments were performed in situ during desorption of hydrocarbon under stepwise lowered pressure. Desorption is a quasicontinuous process that corresponds to emptying various types of free volumes in the silica/n-heptane system, including mesopores. Insight into the kinetics of desorption was derived from the changes of PALS spectra associated with succeeding stages of pore emptying. For the investigated system emptying of pores and formation of bubbles in the n-heptane condensate present in regular pores were found to take place at various bulk saturating vapour pressure of the fluid. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.