Freezing of Fluids Confined between Mica Surfaces

Ayappa, KG and Mishra, Ratan K (2007) Freezing of Fluids Confined between Mica Surfaces. In: Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 111 (51). pp. 14299-14310.

PDF Freezing_of_Fluids_Confined_between_Mica_Surfaces.pdf Restricted to Registered users only Download (689kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

Using grand ensemble simulations, we show that octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (OMCTS) confined between two mica surfaces can form a variety of frozen phases which undergo solid-solid transitions as a function of the separation between the surfaces. For atomically smooth mica surfaces, the following sequence of transitions $1 \triangle \rightarrow 1 \triangle _b \rightarrow 2B \rightarrow 2 \rightarrow 2 \triangle $ are observed in the one- and two-layered regimes, where n \triangle, n, and nB denote triangular, square, and buckled phases, respectively, with the prefix n denoting the number of confined layers. The presence of potassium on mica is seen to have a strong influence on the degree of order induced in the fluid. The sequence of solid-solid transitions that occurs with the smooth mica surface is no longer observed. When equilibrated with a state point near the liquid-solid transition, a counterintuitive freezing scenario is observed in the presence of potassium. Potassium disrupts in-plane ordering in the fluid in contact with the mica surface, and freezing is observed only in the inner confined layers. The largest mica separations at which frozen phases were observed ranged from separations that could accommodate six to seven fluid layers. The extent of freezing and the square-to-triangular lattice transition was found to be sensitive to the presence of potassium as well as the thermodynamic conditions of the bulk fluid. The implications of our results on interpretation of surface force experiments as well as the generic phase behavior of confined soft spheres is discussed.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Journal of Physical Chemistry B
Publisher:	American Chemical Society
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to the American Chemical Society.
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Chemical Engineering
Date Deposited:	12 Feb 2008
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 04:42
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/13017

Actions (login required)

View Item