Stress Isotherms of Porous Thin Materials: Theoretical Predictitions From a Nonlocal Density Functional Theory

Recent beam bending (BB) experiments of microporous t31rns with very small pores have shown that the fluid confined in these pores exhibits monotonic compressive stresses as the relative pressure is varied from vacuum to saturation (relative vapor pressure, p/p. = 1). The variation of the stress near saturation is found to be linear in hz(p) and given by the saturated liquid density to within 20%. Capillary condensed fluids are traditionally described by the Laplace-Kelvin (LK) theory. LK theory correctly predicts the slope of the stress near saturation to be pl, but also predicts that the stress should be zero at saturation and tensile between saturation aud the capillary transition pressure. Hence LK theory does not capture the monotonic compressive stress observed in BB experiments. This report describes the results of density functional theory calculations for a simple fluid continued to a slit pore network. We show how the presence of even a small amount of polydispersity in pore size leads to both a monotonic compressive stress as well as the observed LK slope

Capillary Condensation and Interface Structure of a Model Colloid-Polymer Mixture in a Porous Medium

We consider the Asakura-Oosawa model of hard sphere colloids and ideal polymers in contact with a porous matrix modeled by immobilized configurations of hard spheres. For this ternary mixture a fundamental measure density functional theory is employed, where the matrix particles are quenched and the colloids and polymers are annealed, i.e. allowed to equilibrate. We study capillary condensation of the mixture in a tiny sample of matrix as well as demixing and the fluid-fluid interface inside a bulk matrix. Density profiles normal to the interface and surface tensions are calculated and compared to the case without matrix. Two kinds of matrices are considered: (i) colloid-sized matrix particles at low packing fractions and (ii) large matrix particles at high packing fractions. These two cases show fundamentally different behavior and should both be experimentally realizable. Furthermore, we argue that capillary condensation of a colloidal suspension could be experimentally accessible. We find that in case (ii), even at high packing fractions, the main effect of the matrix is to exclude volume and, to high accuracy, the results can be mapped onto those of the same system without matrix via a simple rescaling.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, submitted to PR

Solvation Effects in Self-Assembled Systems

Many types of self-assembly can be found in nature. They include crystallization, the formation of micelles, and the folding of proteins. Recently there has been much interest in pursuing nano-to-microscopically engineered materials by way of self-assembly on imprinted or templated surfaces. In all of these diverse cases, wetting plays a critical role in the assembly process. Wetting involves the interactions of the substrate or amphiphilic molecule or macromolecule with a solvent. In many self-assembled systems we find that the critical feature of the system is a substrate! or macromolecule with a both hydrophilic and hydrophobic nature. In this paper we discuss the wetting properties of a striped surface where the stripes represent alternating chemical characteristics. We show how the chemical heterogeneity affects the wetting properties of the surface (e.g. the static contact angle), and discuss the length limitations on the soft lithography approach. In this paper, the wetting of a chemically heterogeneous surface is studied using a nonlocal Density Functional Theory (DFT). The results for the heterogeneous surface model we discuss have immediate implications for soft-lithography by self-assembly. It also lends fundamental insight into the mechanisms controlling self-assembly of macromolecules. We present the results of nonlocal 2D DFT calculations on the wetting properties of chemically heterogeneous surfaces. These calculations showed complex density distributions and phase behavior as a result of the heterogeneity. The location of the wetting transition are found to be strongly dependent on the extent and strength of the heterogeneity, and complete wetting was suppressed altogether if the hydrophobic parts of the surface were large enough. In these cases, the condensed nanophase may crystallize if the hydrophilic surface-fluid interactions are strong enough. By exploring the phase space including strength of hydrophilic interactions and extent of chemical heterogeneity, an operational phase diagram was established that could be used for designing nanoscopically tailored devices and materials