Solid-fluid equilibrium molecular models

SOLID-FLUID EQUILIBRIUM INSIGHTS FROM SIMPLE MOLECULAR MODELS... 

All three areas will be addressed here. The application of classical density functional theory has led to some of the most important recent theoretical advances in SFE and these have been the subject of several authoritative review articles [10-16]. On the other hand, we know of no recent comprehensive review addressing theoretical approaches other than density functional theories (DFT) and the other two subject areas, particularly the last one, and it was this that motivated us to write this chapter. We hope that the somewhat broader coverage of molecular modeling research in SFE given in this chapter will be of benefit to researchers new to the field. We should mention that this Chapter is written from a perspective that is more strongly influenced by liquid-state statistical mechanics than by solid-state theory. The interests of the authors in the problem at hand are an outgrowth of their previous work on phase equilibrium in fluids and fluid mixtures. 

The classical models of adsorption processes like Langmuir, BET, DR or Kelvin treatments and their numerous variations and extensions, contain several uncontrolled approximations. However, the classical theories are convenient and their usage is very widespread. On the other hand, the aforementioned classical theories do not start from a well - defined molecular model, and the result is that the link between the molecular behaviour and the macroscopic properties of the systems studied are blurred. The more developed and notable descriptions of the condensed systems include lattice models [408] which are solved by means of the mean - field or other non-classical techniques [409]. The virial formalism of low -pressure adsorption discussed above, integral equation method and perturbation theory are also useful approaches. However, the state of the art technique is the density functional theory (DFT) introduced by Evans [410] and Tarazona [411]. The DFT method enables calculating the equilibrium density profile, p (r), of the fluid which is in contact with the solid phase. The main idea of the DFT approach is that the free energy of inhomogeneous fluid which is a function of p (r), can be... 

Molecular Simulations Molecular simulations are useful for predicting properties of bulk fluids and solids. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations solve Newton s equations of motion for a small number (on the order of 10 ) of molecules to obtain the time evolution of the system. MD methods can be used for equilibrium and transport properties. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations use a model for the potential energy between molecules to simulate configurations of the molecules in proportion to their probability of occurrence. Statistical averages of MC configurations are useful for equilibrium properties, particularly for saturated densities, vapor pressures, etc. Property estimations using molecular simulation techniques are not illustrated in the remainder of this section as commercial software implementations are not generally available at this time. 

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