A Remarkable Elevation of Freezing Temperature of CCl4 in Graphitic Micropores

Manipulation of the crystalline phase diagram of hydrogen through nanoscale confinement effects in porous carbons

Condensed phases of molecular hydrogen (H₂) are highly desired for clean energy applications ranging from hydrogen storage to nuclear fusion and superconductive energy storage. However, in bulk hydrogen, such dense phases typically only form at exceedingly low temperatures or extremely high (typically hundreds of GPa) pressures. Here, confinement of H₂ within nanoporous materials is shown to significantly manipulate the hydrogen phase diagram leading to preferential stabilization of unusual crystalline H₂ phases. Using pressure and temperature-dependent neutron scattering at pressures between 200-2000 bar (0.02-0.2 GPa) and temperatures between 10-77 K to map out the phase diagram of H₂ when confined inside both meso- and microporous carbons, we conclusively demonstrate the preferential stabilisation of face-centred cubic (FCC) solid ortho-H₂ in microporous carbons, at temperatures five times higher than would be possible in bulk H₂. Through examination of nanoconfined H₂ rotational dynamics, preferential adsorption and spin trapping of ortho-H₂, as well as the loss of rotational energy and severe restriction of rotational degrees of freedom caused by the unique micropore environments, are shown to result in changes to phase behaviour. This work provides a general strategy for further manipulation of the H₂ phase diagram via nanoconfinement effects, and for tuning of anisotropic potential through control of confining material composition and pore size. This approach could potentially provide lower energy routes to the formation and study of more exotic non-equilibrium condensed phases of hydrogen that could be useful for a wide range of energy applications.

Experimental Observation of Crystal-Liquid Coexistence in Slit-Confined Nonpolar Fluids

Films of carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄) confined in slit geometry between two flat diamond substrates down to a few tens of Angstroms are studied by combining X-ray reflectivity with in-plane and out-of-plane X-ray scattering. The confined films form a heterogeneous structure with coexisting regions of liquid and crystalline phases. The liquid phase shows short-range ordering normal to the surfaces of the substrates. The experiments directly show the ability of the confinement to induce crystal objects, which is a long-discussed issue in the literature. The surface structure and morphology of the substrates may influence the actual realization of the crystalline phase in confinement.

Pore Characterization of Carbonaceous Materials by DFT and GCMC Simulations: A Review

A review is given of the pore characterization of carbonaceous materials, including activated carbon, carbon fibres, carbon nanotubes, etc., using adsorption techniques. Since the pores of carbon media are mostly of molecular dimensions, the appropriate modern tools for the analysis of adsorption isotherms are grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations and density functional theory (DFT). These techniques are presented and applications of such tools in the derivation of pore-size distribution highlighted.

The logarithmic relaxation process and the critical temperature of liquids in nano-confined states

The logarithmic relaxation process is the slowest of all relaxation processes and is exhibited by only a few molecular liquids and proteins. Bulk salol, which is a glass-forming liquid, is known to exhibit logarithmic decay of intermediate scattering function for the β-relaxation process. In this article, we report the influence of nanoscale confinements on the logarithmic relaxation process and changes in the microscopic glass-transition temperature of salol in the carbon and silica nanopores. The generalized vibrational density-of-states of the confined salol indicates that the interaction of salol with ordered nanoporous carbon is hydrophilic in nature whereas the interaction with silica surfaces is more hydrophobic. The mode-coupling theory critical temperature derived from the QENS data shows that the dynamic transition occurs at much lower temperature in the carbon pores than in silica pores. The results of this study indicate that, under nano-confinements, liquids that display logarithmic β-relaxation phenomenon undergo a unique glass transition process.

Modeling the relationship between melting point of a metal nanowire and its cap surface curvature

It is of practical importance to predict the melting point of metal nanowires in a confined environment.

Effect of surface texture on freezing in nanopores: surface-induced versus homogeneous crystallization

Freezing of argon in ordered and disordered carbon pores of a similar diameter D ∼ 2.4 nm is investigated using extensive molecular simulations with large system sizes up to 10(4) atoms. While crystallization in the atomistically smooth pore consists in a surface-induced phase transition occurring at a temperature larger than the bulk, crystallization in the disordered pores, which is only partial as it is spatially restricted to the pore center, occurs through homogeneous crystallization. These results shed light on solidification in pores by showing that there is a crossover between surface-induced and homogeneous crystallization upon increasing the surface disorder of the host material. In the latter case, the Gibbs-Thomson equation, in which crystallization is assumed to occur when the crystal size equals the pore size corrected for the thickness of the unfreezable layer at the pore surface, is in reasonable agreement with the observed freezing temperature.

Incorporation of organic crystals into the interspace of oriented nanocrystals: morphologies and properties

Oriented nanocrystals, as seen in biominerals, have both the macroscopic hierarchical morphologies and the nanoscale interspace among the unit crystals. Here we studied the incorporation effects of the specific interspace in the oriented nanocrystals on the morphologies, properties, and applications of organic crystals. Organic crystals, such as 9-vinylcarbazole (VCz), azobenzene (AB), and pyrene (PY), were introduced into the specific interspace of oriented nanocrystals from the melts. The morphologies and properties of the incorporated organic crystals were systematically studied in these model cases. The incorporation of the organic crystals provided the composites with the original oriented nanocrystals. The incorporated organic crystals formed the single-crystalline structures even in the nanoscale interspace. The melts of the organic compounds were crystallized and grown in the interspace of the original materials. The incorporated organic crystals showed the specific phase transition behavior. The freezing points of the organic crystals were raised by the incorporation into the nanospace while the melting points were not changed. The hierarchical morphologies of the organic crystals were obtained after the dissolution of the original materials. The hierarchical morphologies of the original materials were replicated to the organic crystals. The incorporated organic crystal was polymerized without deformation of the hierarchical morphologies. The hierarchical polymer can be applied to the donor material for the generation of a larger amount of the charge-transfer complex with the acceptor molecule than the commercial polymer microparticles. The present work shows the potential use of the nanoscale interspace generated in the oriented nanocrystals.

2H NMR study of 2D melting and dynamic behaviour of CDCl3 confined in ACF nanospace

Two-dimensional melting of trichloromethane (chloroform) confined in activated carbon fibre was investigated using differential thermal analysis and (2)H NMR techniques. Differential thermal analysis revealed a thermal anomaly with an endothermic peak at 269 K, which was distributed from 250 K to 287 K on the heating direction. This anomaly was also observed upon cooling at the same temperature. Furthermore, (2)H NMR revealed that slow motion such as molecular hopping and/or diffusion of CDCl(3) in ACF affected the spectral line width. The temperature dependence (Arrhenius plot) of the spectral line width showed an inflection point at 227 K. The activation energy of molecular motion of CDCl(3) in ACF was 4 kJ mol(-1) at temperatures greater than 227 K and 7.7 kJ mol(-1) at temperatures less than 227 K. Reduction of the activation energy suggests that the average intermolecular distance between CDCl(3) molecules enlarges above the inflection point. The difference of activation energy (3.7 kJ mol(-1)) is close to the enthalpy of fusion in typical plastic crystals. These results reveal that the thermal anomaly and the transition of dynamic process correspond respectively to melting of CHCl(3) in ACF and the pre-melting phenomenon.

Effect of pressure on the freezing of pure fluids and mixtures confined in nanopores

Monte Carlo simulations combined with the parallel tempering technique are used to study the freezing of Ar, CH(4), and their mixtures in a slit graphite nanopore. For all systems, the solid/liquid coexistence line is located at higher temperature than that for the bulk phase, as expected for fluids for which the wall/fluid interaction is stronger than the fluid/fluid interaction. In the case of the mixtures, the phase diagram for the confined system is of the same type as that for the bulk (azeotropic). It is also found that the freezing temperatures for the confined fluids and mixture are much more affected by pressure than those for the bulk phase. By calculating the isothermal compressibility of the confined fluids and determining the slope of the solid/liquid coexistence line (T,P) from the Clapeyron equation, we show that such a strong effect of pressure is not related to reduced compressibility within the pores. On the other hand, the pressure dependence of the in-pore freezing temperature is correctly described in the frame of the model proposed by Miyahara et al. [ Miyahara , M. ; Kanda , H. ; Shibao , M. ; Higashitani , K. J. Chem. Phys. 2000 , 112 , 9909. ], which is based on the pressure difference between the bulk and confined phases (capillary effect). In this model, a change in the in-pore freezing temperature with pressure is explained by a drastic change in the in-pore pressure, which varies very sharply with the bulk external pressure. We present an extended version of this model to confined systems for which an increase in the freezing temperature is observed.

Adsorption and phase transitions in adsorbed systems: structural properties of CCl4 layers adsorbed on a graphite surface

We present the results of simulations of a CCl(4) monolayer adsorbed on a graphite surface. The CCl(4) molecule was represented either by a shapeless superatom or by its atomic sites. The simulations were carried out over a large range of temperatures, from 20 K up to 340 K. We address the following problems: (1) the influence of molecular shape on the structure and stability of phases (particularly at low temperatures), and (2) the influence of the graphite corrugation on layer stability and mechanism of phase transitions. In particular, we discuss the possibility and conditions of the appearance of hexatic phase in the system.

Formation and Decomposition of Ethane, Propane, and Carbon Dioxide Hydrates in Silica Gel Mesopores under High Pressure

The experimental data on decomposition temperatures for the gas hydrates of ethane, propane, and carbon dioxide dispersed in silica gel mesopores are reported. The studies were performed at pressures up to 1 GPa. It is shown that the experimental dependence of hydrate decomposition temperature on the size of pores that limit the size of hydrate particles can be described on the basis of the Gibbs-Thomson equation only if one takes into account changes in the shape coefficient that is present in the equation; in turn, the value of this coefficient depends on a method of mesopore size determination. A mechanism of hydrate formation in mesoporous medium is proposed. Experimental data providing evidence of the possibility of the formation of hydrate compounds in hydrophobic matrixes under high pressure are reported. Decomposition temperature of those hydrate compounds is higher than that for the bulk hydrates of the corresponding gases.

Effects of confinement on freezing and melting

We present a review of experimental, theoretical, and molecular simulation studies of confinement effects on freezing and melting. We consider both simple and more complex adsorbates that are confined in various environments (slit or cylindrical pores and also disordered porous materials). The most commonly used molecular simulation, theoretical and experimental methods are first presented. We also provide a brief description of the most widely used porous materials. The current state of knowledge on the effects of confinement on structure and freezing temperature, and the appearance of new surface-driven and confinement-driven phases are then discussed. We also address how confinement affects the glass transition.

Molecular modeling of freezing of simple fluids confined within carbon nanotubes

We report Monte Carlo simulation results for freezing of Lennard-Jones carbon tetrachloride confined within model multiwalled carbon nanotubes of different diameters. The structure and thermodynamic stability of the confined phases, as well as the transition temperatures, were determined from parallel tempering grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations and free-energy calculations. The simulations show that the adsorbate forms concentric molecular layers that solidify into defective quasi-two-dimensional hexagonal crystals. Freezing in such concentric layers occurs via intermediate phases that show remnants of hexatic behavior, similar to the freezing mechanism observed for slit pores in previous works. The adsorbate molecules in the inner regions of the pore also exhibit changes in their properties upon reduction of temperature. The structural changes in the different regions of adsorbate occur at temperatures above or below the bulk freezing point, depending on pore diameter and distance of the adsorbate molecules from the pore wall. The simulations show evidence of a rich phase behavior in confinement; a number of phases, some of them inhomogeneous, were observed for the pore sizes considered. The multiple transition temperatures obtained from the simulations were found to be in good agreement with recent dielectric relaxation spectroscopy experiments for CCl(4) confined within multiwalled carbon nanotubes.

The structure of fluids confined in crystalline slitlike nanoscopic pores

Grand canonical and canonical ensemble Monte Carlo simulation methods are used to study the structure and phase behavior of Lennard-Jones fluids confined between the parallel (100) planes of the face centered cubic crystal. Thin slit pores with a width allowing for the formation of only up to five atomic layers are considered. The phase diagrams of the systems characterized by different pore width as well as by different strength of the fluid-pore walls potential are determined. It is shown that an enormously large number of different phase diagram topologies can occur, depending on the parameters of the problem (pore width, strength of the fluid-pore walls potential, etc).

An experimental study of melting of CCl4 in carbon nanotubes

We report dielectric relaxation spectroscopy measurements of the melting point of carbon tetrachloride confined within open-tip multi-walled carbon nanotubes with two different pore diameters, 4.0 and 2.8 nm. In both cases, a single transition temperature well above the bulk melting point was obtained for confined CCl4. These results contrast with what was obtained in our previous measurements using carbon nanotubes with a pore diameter of 5.0 nm, where multiple transition temperatures both above and below the bulk melting point of CCl4 were observed. Our experimental measurements are consistent with our recent molecular simulation results (F. R. Hung, B. Coasne, E. E. Santiso, K. E. Gubbins, F. R. Siperstein and M. Sliwinska-Bartkowiak, J. Chem. Phys., 2005, 122, 144706). Although the simulations overestimate the temperatures in which melting upon confinement occurs, both simulations and experiments suggest that all regions of adsorbate freeze at the same temperature, and that freezing occurs at higher temperatures upon reduction of the pore diameter.

Adsorption of ethylene on graphitized thermal carbon black and in slit pores: a computer simulation study

In this paper, we studied vapor-liquid equilibria (VLE) and adsorption of ethylene on graphitized thermal carbon black and in slit pores whose walls are composed of graphene layers. Simple models of a one-center Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential and a two-center united atom (UA)-LJ potential are investigated to study the impact of the choice of potential models in the description of VLE and adsorption behavior. Here, we used a Monte Carlo simulation method with grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) and Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo ensembles. The one-center potential model cannot describe adequately the VLE over the practical range of temperature from the triple point to the critical point. On the other hand, the two-center potential model (Wick et al. J. Phys. Chem. B 2000, 104, 8008-8016) performs well in the description of VLE (saturated vapor and liquid densities and vapor pressure) over the wide range of temperature. This UA-LJ model is then used in the study of adsorption of ethylene on graphitized thermal carbon black and in slit pores. Agreement between the GCMC simulation results and the experimental data on graphitized thermal carbon black for moderate temperatures is excellent, demonstrating that the potential of the GCMC method and the proper choice of potential model are essential to investigate adsorption. For slit pores of various sizes, we have found that the behavior of ethylene exhibits a number of features that are not manifested in the study of spherical LJ particles. In particular, the singlet density distribution versus distance across the pore and the angle between the molecular axis and the z direction provide rich information about the way molecules arrange themselves when the pore width is varied. Such an arrangement has been found to be very sensitive to the pore width.

Molecular simulation evidence for solidlike adsorbate in complex carbonaceous micropore structures

Adsorption of a model nitrogen vapor on a range of complex nanoporous carbon structures is simulated by grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation for a single subcritical temperature above the bulk freezing point. Adsorption and desorption isotherms, heats of adsorption, and three-dimensional singlet distribution functions (SDFs) were generated. Inspection of the SDFs reveals significant levels of solidlike adsorbate at saturation even in the most complex of the microporous solids considered. This strongly suggests that solidlike adsorbate will also occur for simple subcritical vapors adsorbed on real noncrystalline solids such as microporous carbons at temperatures above the bulk freezing point, supporting indirect experimental observations. The presence of significant levels of solidlike adsorbate has implications for characterization of microporous solids where adsorbate density is used (e.g., determination of pore volume from loading). Detailed consideration of the SDF at different loadings for a model microporous solid indicates solidlike adsorbate forms at distributed points throughout the pore space at pressures dependent on the nature of the local porosity. The nature of the local porosity also dictates the freezing mechanism. A local freezing/ melting/refreezing process is also observed. Introduction of mesoporosity into the model causes hysteresis between the adsorption and desorption isotherms. Adsorption in the hysteresis loop occurs by a series of local condensation events. It appears as if the presence of adjacent microporosity and/or adsorbate within it affects the pressure at which these events occur. Reversal of the condensation during desorption occurs throughout the mesoporosity at a single pressure; this pressure is unaffected by the presence of adjacent microporosity or the adsorbate within it. It is also shown that the empirical concept of "pore size" is not consistent for describing adsorption in the complex solids considered here. A new concept is, therefore, proposed that seeks to account for the factors that affect local adsorption energy: local geometry, microtexture, surface atom density, and surface chemistry.

Application of density functional theory to capillary phenomena in cylindrical mesopores with radial and longitudinal density distributions

In this paper, we applied a version of the nonlocal density functional theory (NLDFT) accounting radial and longitudinal density distributions to study the adsorption and desorption of argon in finite as well as infinite cylindrical nanopores at 87.3 K. Features that have not been observed before with one-dimensional NLDFT are observed in the analysis of an inhomogeneous fluid along the axis of a finite cylindrical pore using the two-dimensional version of the NLDFT. The phase transition in pore is not strictly vapor-liquid transition as assumed and observed in the conventional version, but rather it exhibits a much elaborated feature with phase transition being complicated by the formation of solid phase. Depending on the pore size, there are more than one phase transition in the adsorption-desorption isotherm. The solid formation in finite pore has been found to be initiated by the presence of the meniscus. Details of the analysis of the extended version of NLDFT will be discussed in the paper.

Estimating the pore size distribution of activated carbons from adsorption data of different adsorbates by various methods

Experimental adsorption isotherms of four adsorbates (N2, Ar, C6H6, and CCl4) as well as adsorption enthalpy (C6H6 and CCl4) measured on two strictly microporous carbons are used to evaluate the porosity of adsorbents (i.e., pore size distributions (PSDs) and average pore diameter ( Lav )). The influence of the diameter of adsorbates ( dA) as well as of the temperature ( T ) is analyzed in order to explain the differences or similarities between the above-mentioned quantities for all systems. Proposed previously, the general relationships between the parameters of the Dubinin-Astakhov (DA) isotherm equation (the characteristic energy of adsorption ( E0 ) and the exponent of this equation ( n )) and the average slit-width of carbon micropores are investigated. Moreover, the thermodynamic verification of the Horvath-Kawazoe (HK) theory and the ND model is presented based on data of the adsorption and enthalpy of adsorption of benzene and carbon tetrachloride on two carbons. Finally, the pore diameters calculated from calorimetry data using the Everett and Powl method and those calculated applying the recently developed equations are compared. In our opinion the change of apparent PSD should be monitored by performing a series of isotherm measurements from high (equal and higher than room temperature) to low temperatures (ca. 77.5 K) as was presented in the current study. Moreover, the analysis of the experimental data leads to the conclusion that the entropy of C6H6 and CCl4 can approach to the values characteristic of quasi-solid (a partially ordered structure). Therefore, this behavior of the adsorbate should be taken into consideration in the theoretical assumptions of model and its thermodynamic verification.

The structure of fluids confined in crystalline slitlike nanoscopic pores: Bilayers

Grand canonical and canonical ensemble Monte Carlo simulation methods are used to study the structure and phase behavior of Lennard-Jones fluids confined between the parallel (100) planes of the face centered cubic crystal. Ultra thin slit pores of the width allowing for the formation of only two adsorbate layers are considered. It is demonstrated that the structure of adsorbed phases is very sensitive to the wall-wall separation and to the strength of the fluid-wall potential. It is also shown that the structure of low temperature (solid) phases strongly depends on the fluid density. In particular, when the surface field is sufficiently strong, then the high density phases may exhibit a domain wall structure, quite the same as found in monolayer films adsorbed at a single substrate wall. On the other hand, the weakening of the surface potential leads to the regime in which only the hexagonally ordered bilayer structure is stable. The phase diagrams for a series of systems are estimated. It is shown that, depending on the pore width and the temperature, the condensation leads to the formation of the commensurate or incommensurate phases. The incommensurate phases may have the domain-wall or the hexagonal structure depending on the pore width and the strength of the fluid-wall potential.