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Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Methods of Ex Situ and In Situ Investigations of Structural Transformations: The Case of Crystallization of Metallic Glasses
Published on: June 7, 2018
Phase behavior and local structure of a binary mixture in pores: mean-field lattice model calculations for analyzing
Dirk Woywod1, Sebastian Schemmel, Gernot Rother
1Stranski-Laboratorium für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Fakultät für Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17. Juni 124, D-10623 Berlin, Germany. dirk.woywod@fluids.tu-berlin.de
Abstract:
We investigate the phase behavior of an asymmetric binary liquid A-W mixture confined between two planar homogenous substrates (slit pore). Molecules of species W interact preferentially with the solid walls via a long-range potential. Assuming nearest-neighbor attractions between the liquid molecules, we employ a lattice-gas model and a mean-field approximation for the grand potential. Minimization of this potential yields the density profiles of thermodynamically stable phases for fixed temperature, chemical potentials of both species, pore width and strengths of attraction. This model is used to analyze experimental small-angle neutron-scattering (SANS) data on the microscopic structure of the binary system isobutyric acid (iBA)+heavy water (D2O) inside a mesoscopic porous matrix (controlled-pore glass of about 10 nm mean pore width). Confinement-independent model parameters are adjusted so that the theoretical liquid-liquid coexistence curve in the bulk matches its experimental counterpart. By choosing appropriate values of the pore width and the attraction strength between substrates and water we analyze the effect of confinement on the phase diagram. In addition to a depression of the liquid-liquid critical point we observe surface induced phase transitions as well as water-film adsorption near the walls. The temperature dependence of the structure of water-rich and iBA-rich phases of constant composition are discussed in detail. The theoretical predictions are consistent with results of the SANS study and assist their interpretation.
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