Binary hard sphere mixtures phase diagram

Solid-fluid phase diagrams of binary hard sphere mixtures have been studied quite extensively using MC simulations. Kranendonk and Frenkel [202-205] and Kofke [206] have studied the solid-fluid equilibrium for binary hard sphere mixtures for the case of substitutionally disordered solid solutions. Several interesting features emerge from these studies. Azeotropy and solid-solid immiscibility appear very quickly in the phase diagram as the size ratio is changed from unity. This is primarily a consequence of the nonideality in the solid phase. Another aspect of these results concerns the empirical Hume-Rothery rule, developed in the context of metal alloy phase equilibrium, that mixtures of spherical molecules with diameter ratios below about 0.85 should exhibit only limited solubility in the solid phase [207]. The simulation results for hard sphere tend to be consistent with this rule. However, it should be noted that the Hume-Rothery rule was formulated in terms of the ratio of nearest neighbor distances in the pure metals rather than hard sphere diameters. Thus, this observation should be interpreted as an indication that molecular size effects are important in metal alloy equilibria rather than as a quantitative confirmation of the Hume-Rothery rule. 

Imhof A and Dhont J K G 1995 Experimental phase diagram of a binary oolloidal hard-sphere mixture with a large size ratio Phys. Rev. Lett. 75 1662-5... 

Many of the papers on DFT have focused primarily on the hard-sphere system, and it is for this system that most success has been achieved. However, DFT has also been applied to the Lennard-Jones 12-6 system, binary mixtures, nonspherical molecules, and coulombic systems. We will discuss some of these applications later in the chapter as we review what is known about the phase diagrams of various models systems. 

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