Defying the Gibbs Phase Rule: Evidence for an Entropy-Driven Quintuple Point in Colloid-Polymer Mixtures
Soft Condensed Matter
2020-09-21 v1 Chemical Physics
Abstract
Using a minimal algebraic model for the thermodynamics of binary rod--polymer mixtures, we provide evidence for a quintuple phase equilibrium; an observation that seems to be at odds with the Gibbs phase rule for two-component systems. Our model is based on equations of state for the relevant liquid crystal phases that are in quantitative agreement with computer simulations. We argue that the appearance of a quintuple equilibrium, involving an isotropic fluid, a nematic and smectic liquid crystal, and two solid phases can be reconciled with a generalized Gibbs phase rule in which the two intrinsic length scales of the athermal colloid--polymer mixture act as additional field variables.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2009.08879,
title = {Defying the Gibbs Phase Rule: Evidence for an Entropy-Driven Quintuple Point in Colloid-Polymer Mixtures},
author = {V. F. D. Peters and M. Vis and Á. González García and H. H. Wensink and R. Tuinier},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2009.08879},
year = {2020}
}