Surface-wetting effects on the liquid-liquid transition of a single-component molecular liquid.
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ABSTRACT: Even a single-component liquid may have more than two liquid states. The transition between them is called a 'liquid-liquid transition' (LLT). Such LLTs have recently attracted considerable attention mainly because of the fundamental interest in the physical origin of this counter-intuitive phenomenon. In this study, we report the first observation of wetting effects on LLT for a molecular liquid, triphenyl phosphite. We find a transition from partial to complete wetting for nucleation-growth-type LLT when approaching the spinodal temperature of LLT. Some features unique to LLT are also revealed, reflecting for example the non-conserved nature of its order parameter. We also find that the wetting behaviour is not induced by dispersion forces, but by weak hydrogen bonding to a solid substrate, implying its important role in the LLT itself. Using wetting effects may open a new possibility to control kinetics and spatial patterns of nucleation-growth-type LLT.
SUBMITTER: Murata K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2909503 | biostudies-other | 2010
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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