Abstract.
We present X-ray reflectivity investigations of the concentration distribution in binary liquid thin films on silicon substrates. The liquid-vapor coexistence of the binary mixture investigated, hexane and perfluorohexane, is far from criticality. Therefore, a sharp interface separates the liquid film from the vapor. The data reveal a separation of the film in layers parallel to the substrate. A phase diagram is constructed as a projection to the (composition difference, temperature) space, covering a temperature range corresponding to the one-phase and the two-phase regime of the bulk liquid. Although the composition data indicate a mixing gap similar to that of the bulk system, there are two major differences: i) only the near-surface phase changes its composition significantly, and ii) a composition gradient in the film exists also at higher temperatures where in the bulk system the one-phase regime exists.
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Received: 28 April 2004, Published online: 21 September 2004
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61.10.Kw X-ray reflectometry (surfaces, interfaces, films) - 64.75. + g Solubility, segregation, and mixing; phase separation - 68.15. + e Liquid thin films
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Prange, W., Press, W., Tolan, M. et al. Phase behaviour of n-hexane/perfluoro-n-hexane binary thin wetting films. Eur. Phys. J. E 15, 13–17 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2004-10031-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2004-10031-3