Formation of nanosized droplets/bubbles from a metastable bulk phase is connected to many unresolved scientific questions. We analyze the properties and stability of multicomponent droplets and bubbles in the canonical ensemble, and compare with single-component systems. The bubbles/droplets are described on the mesoscopic level by square gradient theory. Furthermore, we compare the results to a capillary model which gives a macroscopic description. Remarkably, the solutions of the square gradient model, representing bubbles and droplets, are accurately reproduced by the capillary model except in the vicinity of the spinodals. The solutions of the square gradient model form closed loops, which shows the inherent symmetry and connected nature of bubbles and droplets. A thermodynamic stability analysis is carried out, where the second variation of the square gradient description is compared to the eigenvalues of the Hessian matrix in the capillary description. The analysis shows that it is impossible to stabilize arbitrarily small bubbles or droplets in closed systems and gives insight into metastable regions close to the minimum bubble/droplet radii. Despite the large difference in complexity, the square gradient and the capillary model predict the same finite threshold sizes and very similar stability limits for bubbles and droplets, both for single-component and two-component systems.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
14 January 2014
Research Article|
January 10 2014
Thermodynamic stability of nanosized multicomponent bubbles/droplets: The square gradient theory and the capillary approach
Øivind Wilhelmsen;
Øivind Wilhelmsen
a)
1Department of Chemistry,
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
, Trondheim, Norway
Search for other works by this author on:
Dick Bedeaux;
Dick Bedeaux
1Department of Chemistry,
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
, Trondheim, Norway
Search for other works by this author on:
Signe Kjelstrup;
Signe Kjelstrup
1Department of Chemistry,
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
, Trondheim, Norway
Search for other works by this author on:
David Reguera
David Reguera
2Departament de Física Fonamental,
Universitat de Barcelona
, Martí i Franquès 1, Barcelona, Spain
Search for other works by this author on:
a)
Electronic mail: oivind.wilhelmsen@ntnu.no
J. Chem. Phys. 140, 024704 (2014)
Article history
Received:
October 17 2013
Accepted:
December 16 2013
Citation
Øivind Wilhelmsen, Dick Bedeaux, Signe Kjelstrup, David Reguera; Thermodynamic stability of nanosized multicomponent bubbles/droplets: The square gradient theory and the capillary approach. J. Chem. Phys. 14 January 2014; 140 (2): 024704. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4860495
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionPay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Citing articles via
Related Content
The finite basis representation as the primary space in multidimensional pseudospectral schemes
J. Chem. Phys. (December 1994)
On the alignment of the α‐strain and vorticity in turbulent nonpremixed flames
Physics of Fluids (August 1996)
Calculation of continuous spin detonation in a hydrogen-air mixture in an annular combustor
AIP Conference Proceedings (November 2018)
Three‐dimensional Green’s function for fluid‐loaded thin elastic cylindrical shell: Alternative representations and ray acoustic forms
J Acoust Soc Am (February 1990)
Euler–Euler modeling of reactive bubbly flow in a bubble column
Physics of Fluids (May 2022)