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Updated: Jul 19, 2026

A Microfluidic Approach for the Study of Ice and Clathrate Hydrate Crystallization
Published on: August 18, 2022
Freezing of fluids confined in a disordered nanoporous structure
B Coasne1, S K Jain, K E Gubbins
1Laboratoire de Physicochimie de la Matière Condensée, Université Montpellier 2 and CNRS (UMR 5617), Montpellier, France.
Abstract:
Freezing of a simple fluid in a disordered nanoporous carbon is studied using molecular simulations. Only partial crystallization occurs, and the confined phase is composed of crystalline and amorphous nanodomains. This freezing behavior departs strongly from that for nanopores of simple geometry. We present a method for analyzing the freezing in such disordered materials in terms of a transition in the average size and number of crystalline clusters. The results provide a basis for the interpretation of experiments on freezing in such materials, particularly 1H-NMR and scattering experiments.
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