Universality class of the critical point in the restricted primitive model of ionic systems

Critical charge and density coupling in ionic spherical models

We investigate ionic criticality on the basis of a specially devised spherical model that accounts both for Coulomb and nonionic forces in binary systems. We show in detail here the consequences of the entanglement of density and charge correlation functions G_{NN} and G_{ZZ} on criticality and screening. We also show on this soluble model how, because of electroneutrality, the long-range Coulomb interactions do not change the universality class of criticality in the model driven primarily by sufficiently attractive nonionic interactions. Near criticality, G_{NN} and G_{ZZ} are fully decoupled in charge symmetric systems. However, in more realistic nonsymmetric models, charge and density fluctuations couple in leading order so that the charge and density correlation lengths diverge asymptotically in a similar way. Similarly, the Stillinger-Lovett sum rule, which characterizes a conducting fluid, is violated at criticality in nonsymmetric models when the critical-point density-decay exponent η vanishes. In addition, if quantum effects are accounted for semiclassically by incorporating algebraically decaying interactions, G_{ZZ} decays only as a power law in the whole phase space, contrary to the usually expected exponential Debye screening. We expect these results on this soluble toy model to be general and to reveal general mechanisms ruling ionic criticality.

Self-consistent theory for systems with mesoscopic fluctuations

We have developed a theory for inhomogeneous systems that allows for the incorporation of the effects of mesoscopic fluctuations. A hierarchy of equations relating the correlation and direct correlation functions for the local excess [Formula: see text] of the volume fraction of particles ζ has been obtained, and an approximation leading to a closed set of equations for the two-point functions has been introduced for the disordered inhomogeneous phase. We have numerically solved the self-consistent equations for one-dimensional (1D) and three-dimensional (3D) models with short-range attraction and long-range repulsion. Predictions for all of the qualitative properties of the 1D model agree with the exact results, but only semi-quantitative agreement is obtained in the simplest version of the theory. The effects of fluctuations in the two 3D models considered are significantly different, despite the very similar properties of these models in the mean-field approximation. In both cases we obtain the sequence of large-small-large compressibility for increasing ζ. The very small compressibility is accompanied by the oscillatory decay of correlations with correlation lengths that are orders of magnitude larger than the size of particles. In one of the two models considered, the small compressibility becomes very small and the large compressibility becomes very large with decreasing temperature, and eventually van der Waals loops appear. Further studies are necessary in order to determine the nature of the strongly inhomogeneous phase present for intermediate volume fractions in 3D.

Gas-liquid phase coexistence and crossover behavior of binary ionic fluids with screened Coulomb interactions

We study the effects of an interaction range on the gas-liquid phase diagram and the crossover behavior of a simple model of ionic fluids: an equimolar binary mixture of equisized hard spheres interacting through screened Coulomb potentials which are repulsive between particles of the same species and attractive between particles of different species. Using the collective variables theory, we find explicit expressions for the relevant coefficients of the effective φ{4} Ginzburg-Landau Hamiltonian in a one-loop approximation. Within the framework of this approximation, we calculate the critical parameters and gas-liquid phase diagrams for varying inverse screening length z. Both the critical temperature scaled by the Yukawa potential contact value and the critical density rapidly decrease with an increase of the interaction range (a decrease of z) and then for z<0.05 they slowly approach the values found for a restricted primitive model (RPM). We find that gas-liquid coexistence region reduces with an increase of z and completely vanishes at z≃2.78. Our results clearly show that an increase in the interaction range leads to a decrease of the crossover temperature. For z≃0.01, the crossover temperature is the same as for the RPM.

Ginzburg criterion for ionic fluids: the effect of Coulomb interactions

The effect of the Coulomb interactions on the crossover between mean-field and Ising critical behavior in ionic fluids is studied using the Ginzburg criterion. We consider the charge-asymmetric primitive model supplemented by short-range attractive interactions in the vicinity of the gas-liquid critical point. The model without Coulomb interactions exhibiting typical Ising critical behavior is used to calibrate the Ginzburg temperature of the systems comprising electrostatic interactions. Using the collective variables method, we derive a microscopic-based effective Hamiltonian for the full model. We obtain explicit expressions for all the relevant Hamiltonian coefficients within the framework of the same approximation, i.e., the one-loop approximation. Then we consistently calculate the reduced Ginzburg temperature t(G) for both the purely Coulombic model (a restricted primitive model) and the purely nonionic model (a hard-sphere square-well model) as well as for the model parameters ranging between these two limiting cases. Contrary to the previous theoretical estimates, we obtain the reduced Ginzburg temperature for the purely Coulombic model to be about 20 times smaller than for the nonionic model. For the full model including both short-range and long-range interactions, we show that t(G) approaches the value found for the purely Coulombic model when the strength of the Coulomb interactions becomes sufficiently large. Our results suggest a key role of Coulomb interactions in the crossover behavior observed experimentally in ionic fluids as well as confirm the Ising-like criticality in the Coulomb-dominated ionic systems.

Universal sequence of ordered structures obtained from mesoscopic description of self-assembly

Mesoscopic theory for soft-matter systems that combines density functional and statistical field theory is derived by a systematic coarse-graining procedure. For particles interacting with spherically symmetric potentials of arbitrary form, the grand-thermodynamic potential consists of two terms. The first term is associated with microscopic length-scale fluctuations, and has the form of the standard density functional. The second term is associated with mesoscopic length-scale fluctuations, and has the form known from the statistical field theory. For the correlation function between density fluctuations in mesoscopic regions, a pair of equations similar to the Ornstein-Zernicke equation with a new closure is obtained. In the special case of weak ordering on the mesoscopic length scale, the theory takes a form similar to either the Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson (LGW) or the Landau-Brazovskii (LB) field theory, depending on the form of the interaction potential. Microscopic expressions for the phenomenological parameters that appear in the Landau-type theories are obtained. Within the framework of this theory, we obtain a universal sequence of phases: disordered, bcc, hexagonal, lamellar, inverted hexagonal, inverted bcc, disordered, for increasing density well below the close-packing density. The sequence of phases agrees with experimental observations and with simulations of many self-assembling systems. In addition to the above phases, more complex phases may appear depending on the interaction potentials. For a particular form of the short-range attraction long-range repulsion potential, we find the bicontinuous gyroid phase ( Ia3d symmetry) that may be related to a network-forming cluster of colloids in a mixture of colloids and nonadsorbing polymers.

Critical behavior on approaching a special critical point in a complex fluid

The critical behavior of osmotic susceptibility is investigated in the re-entrant complex mixture 1-propanol (P)+water (W)+potassium chloride (KCl) through light-scattering measurements. The measurements are performed on approaching a special critical point [i.e., the double critical point (DCP)] in this mixture, along the line of upper critical solution temperatures (T(U)'s), by varying t from the high temperature one-phase region. The light-scattering data analysis emphasizes the need for corrections to the asymptotic Ising behavior and yields very large magnitudes for the correction-to-scaling amplitudes A(1) and A(2), with the first-correction amplitude A(1) being negative, signifying a nonmonotonic crossover behavior of the susceptibility exponent in this mixture. For the T(U) closest to the DCP, the effective susceptibility exponent gamma(eff) displays a nonmonotonic crossover from its nearly doubled three dimensional (3D)-Ising value toward its nearly double mean-field value with an increase in t. While for that far away from the DCP, it displays a nonmonotonic crossover from its single-limit Ising value toward a value slightly lower than its mean-field value of 1 with an increase in t. This feature of the effective susceptibility exponent is interpreted in terms of the possibility of a nonmonotonic crossover to the mean-field value from lower values in the nonasymptotic high t region. The renormalized Ising regime extends over a larger t range for the sample (or T(U)) closest to the DCP when compared to that far away from it. The in-between T(U)'s display a trend toward shrinkage in the renormalized Ising regime as T(U) shifts away from the DCP. Nevertheless, the crossover to the mean-field behavior is completed only beyond t>10(-2) for the T(U)'s studied. The observed crossover behavior is attributed to the presence of strong ion-induced clustering in this mixture, as revealed by various structure probing techniques, while the observed unique trend in the crossover behavior is discussed in terms of the varying influence of the DCP on the critical behavior along the T(U) line. The crossover behavior for the T(U)'s is pronounced and more sharp compared to the T(L)'s (lower critical solution temperatures) [U. K. Pradeep, J. Chem. Phys. 129, 134506 (2008)] in this mixture, although there exists no difference in the growth of the mesoscale clusters in the lower and upper one-phase regions in this mixture. Our observations suggest the need to look at the crossover behavior probably from two perspectives, namely, the dielectric effect and the clustering effect. The effective susceptibility exponent as a function of the field variable t(UL), instead of the conventional variable t, displays a sharp nonmonotonic crossover from its asymptotic 3D-Ising value ( approximately 1.24) toward a value slightly lower than its nonasymptotic mean-field value of 1, as that observed in the t analysis for the T(U) far away from the influence of the DCP.

Field theory for size- and charge-asymmetric primitive model of ionic systems: mean-field stability analysis and pretransitional effects

The primitive model of ionic systems is investigated within a field-theoretic description for the whole range of diameter-, lambda , and charge, Z ratios of the two ionic species. Two order parameters (OP) are identified. The relation of the OP's to physically relevant quantities is nontrivial. Each OP is a linear combination of the charge density and the number-density waves. Instabilities of the disordered phase associated with the two OP's are determined in the mean-field approximation (MF). In MF a gas-liquid separation occurs for any Z and lambda is not equal to 1 . In addition, an instability with respect to various types of periodic ordering of the two kinds of ions is found. Depending on lambda and Z , one or the other transition is metastable in different thermodynamic states. For sufficiently large size disparity we find a sequence of fluid-crystal-fluid transitions for the increasing volume fraction of ions, in agreement with experimental observations. The instabilities found in MF represent weak ordering of the most probable instantaneous states, and are identified with structural loci associated with pretransitional effects.