Abstract
The properties of a critical nuclei for the liquid-vapor transition of van der Waals fluids in cylindrical capillaries were analyzed using local density functional theory. The proposed model was used to investigate the effect of pore size, surface field, and supersaturation on the behavior of the system. The calculations predicted the existence of at least three different pathways for the nucleation of droplets and bubbles in these confined fluids. It was found that the morphological transition between these different structures is driven by the existence of states of zero compressibility in the capillary.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 8021-8028 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Journal of Chemical Physics |
| Volume | 121 |
| Issue number | 16 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 22 2004 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Physics and Astronomy
- Physical and Theoretical Chemistry