Eur. Phys. J. E (2004) 13: 261-265
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2003-10074-x

Lennard-Jones fluids confined in nanoscopic slits: Evidence for reentrant filling transitions

¹ Faculty of Chemistry, MCS University, 20031, Lublin, Poland
² Institut für Physik, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 55099, Mainz, Germany

^* e-mail: andrzej@pluto.umcs.lublin.pl

Abstract

By using grand canonical and canonical ensemble Monte Carlo simulations, the structure and phase behavior of a Lennard-Jones (LJ) fluid confined between the parallel (100) planes of a face-centered cubic crystal are studied. Slit pores with a width which allows three adsorbate layers to form are used. It is shown that the filled pore consists of three commensurate layers over a wide range of the surface potential strength, while the pore-filling mechanism and the topology of the phase diagram change when the strength of this fluid-wall potential is varied. Condensation may occur in one step or via two layering-like transitions. The structure of monolayer films depends on the strength and corrugation of the surface potential, and the condensation of the middle layer may induce a reentrant first-order transition.