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Thermodynamic Study of Nucleation Effects on Vapor–Liquid Transitions Occurring in Porous Substrates

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Abstract

The Kelvin equation can approximately describe the conditions required for the occurrence of capillary condensation–evaporation phenomena. Nonetheless, nucleation phenomena imply noteworthy deviations from the Kelvin prediction. Nucleation occurs in porous media during liquid–vapor transitions and this phenomenon certainly influences the appearances of adsorption–desorption isotherms. Nucleation plays indeed a capital role during capillary condensation whilst is mostly absent during capillary evaporation.

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Abbreviations

ΔG :

Work of droplet formation

ΔG*:

Free energy barrier associated to nucleation

\( \Updelta G_{S}^{*} \) :

Free energy required for a new phase formation in the case of heterogeneous nucleation

ΔG(V l):

Liquid phase work of formation

ΔG ij :

Free energy change due to the formation of the interface between the phases i and j

Δp*:

Critical supersaturation

C lv :

Curvature of the liquid–vapor interface

n :

Number of molecules

n*:

Number of molecules threshold for droplet formation

p :

Pressure

p l :

Liquid pressure

pv/p0:

Relative pressure

p v :

Vapor pressure

p 0 :

Vapor saturation pressure

R :

Universal gas constant

r p :

Pore size

r :

Droplet size

r*:

Critical radius

r m :

Mean radius of curvature of the liquid–vapor interphase

v l :

Molar volume of the liquid phase

T :

Temperature

β:

Wall crevice slope

δ:

Pit mouth radius

ρ:

Mean radius of curvature of a nucleation droplet

φ:

Correction factor. A real number

θ:

Contact angle at the three-phase line of contact

σlv :

Liquid–vapor surface tension

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are given to CONACYT for the support provided under project No. 83659 “Estudio Fisicoquímico de la obtención y de las propiedades de los sólidos mesoporosos”. Thanks are also due to the SEP-PROMEP Network “Fisicoquímica de Sistemas Complejos Nanoestructurados”, Project “Estudio de Propiedades Fisicoquímicas de Sistemas Complejos Nanoestructurados. (UAM-I-CA-31 Fisicoquímica de Superficies)”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Química, UAM-Iztapalapa, P.O. Box 55-534, 09340, Mexico, DF, Mexico

    Mariana Ponce, Armando Domínguez, J. Marcos Esparza, Isaac Kornhauser & Fernando Rojas

Authors
  1. Mariana Ponce
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  2. Armando Domínguez
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  3. J. Marcos Esparza
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  4. Isaac Kornhauser
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  5. Fernando Rojas
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Correspondence to Armando Domínguez.

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Ponce, M., Domínguez, A., Esparza, J.M. et al. Thermodynamic Study of Nucleation Effects on Vapor–Liquid Transitions Occurring in Porous Substrates. Top Catal 54, 114–120 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11244-011-9651-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11244-011-9651-8

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