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Liquid-Liquid Phase Transition in Nanoconfined Silicon Carbide
Weikang Wu1, Leining Zhang1, Sida Liu1
1Key Laboratory for Liquid-Solid Structural Evolution and Processing of Materials, Ministry of Education, Shandong University , Jinan 250061, People's Republic of China.
Journal of the American Chemical Society
|February 10, 2016
Summary
We found theoretical evidence of a liquid-liquid phase transition in silicon carbide under nanoslit confinement. This transition involves layering, density changes, and microphase separation driven by confinement and pressure.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Physical Chemistry
- Computational Physics
Background:
- Liquid silicon carbide (SiC) is a technologically important material.
- Understanding phase transitions in confined systems is crucial for nanotechnology.
- Previous studies have explored SiC properties, but LLPT under nanoslit confinement remains underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the theoretical evidence of a liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) in liquid silicon carbide under nanoslit confinement.
- To characterize the structural and density changes associated with the LLPT.
- To elucidate the roles of confinement, pressure, and wall-liquid interactions in inducing the LLPT.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical modeling and simulation of liquid silicon carbide within nanoslit confinements.
- Analysis of structural properties, including coordination numbers (tricoordinated, tetracoordinated, pentacoordinated structures).
- Investigation of density changes and microphase separation phenomena.
Main Results:
- Theoretical evidence for a liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) in confined liquid silicon carbide.
- LLPT is characterized by layering transitions, significant density changes, and altered structural distributions (tetra- and pentacoordinated structures).
- Microphase separation occurs, with silicon and carbon forming distinct layers near the walls due to strong wall-liquid forces and varying coordination structures.
Conclusions:
- Nanoslit confinement and pressure can induce a liquid-liquid phase transition in liquid silicon carbide.
- The LLPT involves complex structural rearrangements and microphase separation, leading to distinct silicon-rich and carbon-rich layers.
- The interplay between confinement and pressure determines the dominant driving force for the LLPT, with confinement dominating at high pressures and pressure at low pressures.
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