Solid or liquid? Solidification of a nanoconfined liquid under nonequilibrium conditions

Date

2006

Authors

Patil, S.
Matei, G.
Oral, A.
Hoffmann, P. M.

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Abstract

There has been a long-standing debate about the physical state and possible phase transformations of confined liquids. In this report, we show that a model-confined liquid can behave both as a Newtonian liquid with very little change in its dynamics and as a pseudosolid, depending solely on the rate of approach of the confining surfaces. Thus, the confined liquid does not exhibit any confinement-induced solidification in thermodynamic equilibrium. Instead, solidification is induced kinetically when the two confining surfaces are approached with a minimum critical rate. This critical rate is surprisingly slow (on the order of 6 Å/s), explaining the frequent observation of confinement-induced solidification.

Source Title

Langmuir

Publisher

American Chemical Society

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Keywords

Confined liquids, Nanoconfined liquid, Pseudosolids, Thermodynamic equilibrium, Fluid dynamics, Nanostructured materials, Newtonian liquids, Phase transitions, Solidification, Thermodynamic stability, Confined flow

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Citation

Published Version (Please cite this version)

Language

English