Related papers: Confinement-induced demixing and crystallization
We study numerically the influence of confinement on the solid fraction and on the structure of three-dimensional random close packed (RCP) granular materials subject to gravity. The effects of grain shape (spherical or polyhedral),…
Particle simulations confined by sharp walls usually develop an oscillatory density profile. For some applications, most notably soft matter liquids, this behavior is often unrealistic and one expects a monotonic density climb instead. To…
We review theoretical and simulational approaches to the description of equilibrium bulk crystal and interface properties as well as to the nonequilibrium processes of homogeneous and heterogeneous crystal nucleation for the simple model…
Using transfer operator and fundamental measure theories, we examine the structural and thermodynamic properties of hard rectangles confined between two parallel hard walls. The side lengths of the rectangle ($L$ and $D$, $L>D$) and the…
We investigate a behavior of a core-softened system in a thin slit pore (the width of the pore is equil to three diameters of the particles). In previous studies it was shown that strongly confined systems form crystalline phases which…
Glasses and gels are the two dynamically arrested, disordered states of matter. Despite their importance, their similarities and differences remain elusive, especially at high density. We identify dynamical and structural signatures which…
The paper discusses the features of supercooled water thin film of width $d=3.97$~nm contained by the perfect graphene layers and crystallizing under external stationary electric field. It was found that the electric field applied…
As one of the most fascinating confined water/ice phenomena, two-dimensional square ice has been extensively studied and experimentally confirmed in recent years. Apart from the unidirectional homogeneous square icing patterns considered in…
Hard spheres with a polydispersity above approximately 8% are shown to crystallise into two phase-separated solid phases. A polydispersity above 8% is too large to be tolerated by a single solid phase but phase separation produces two…
Using molecular dynamic simulations we study a waterlike model confined between two fixed hydrophobic plates. The system is tested for density, diffusion and structural anomalous behavior and compared with the bulk results. Within the range…
Using Monte Carlo simulation, we analyse the behaviour of two-dimensional hard rods in four different types of geometric confinement: (i) a slit pore where the particles are confined between two parallel walls with homeotropic anchoring;…
We examine the effects of confinement on the dynamics of premelted films driven by thermomolecular pressure gradients. Our approach is to modify a well-studied setting in which the thermomolecular pressure gradient is driven by a…
We recast the problem of hydrogel swelling under physical constraints as an energy optimization problem. We apply this approach to compute equilibrium shapes of hydrogel spheres confined within a jammed matrix of rigid beads, and interpret…
Liquid water is not only of obvious importance but also extremely intriguing, displaying many anomalies that still challenge our understanding of such an a priori simple system. The same is true when looking at nanoconfined water: The…
A Monte Carlo method is used in order to simulate the competition between the molecular relaxation and crystallization times in the formation of a glass. The results show that nucleation is avoided during supercooling and produce…
The motion of soft-glassy materials (SGM) in a confined geometry is strongly impacted by surface roughness. However, the effect of the spatial distribution of the roughness remains poorly understood from a more quantitative viewpoint. Here…
The structural evolution of suspensions upon freezing is studied with optical microscopy in a suspended droplet configuration. Droplets have millimeter size and consist in an aqueous mixture of silica particles while the surroundings phase…
We perform drainage experiments of a linear alkane fluid (n-hexadecane) down to molecular thicknesses, and focus on the role played by the confinement rate. We show that molecular layering is strongly influenced by the velocity at which the…
There exists a variety of theories of the glass transition and many more numerical models. But because the models need built-in complexity to prevent crystallization, comparisons with theory can be difficult. We study the dynamics of a…
Shape transformations of hairy nanoparticles under confinement are studied using molecular dynamic simulations. We discuss the behavior of these particles in slits with inert or attractive walls. We assume that only chain-wall interactions…