Wetting in Associating Lattice Gas Model Confined by Hydrophilic Walls

TL;DR

This study uses Monte Carlo simulations of an Associating Lattice Gas Model to explore how a two-dimensional water-like fluid behaves under hydrophilic confinement, revealing wetting phenomena and shifted phase transitions.

Contribution

It demonstrates how confinement influences phase behavior and wetting in a water-like model, extending understanding of confined anomalous fluids.

Findings

Wetting layer forms under hydrophilic confinement

Confined fluid exhibits a shifted liquid-liquid transition

Extreme confinement suppresses phase transitions

Abstract

Through Monte Carlo simulations and the Associating Lattice Gas Model, the phases of a two-dimensional fluid under hydrophilic confinement are evaluated. The model, in its unconfined version, reproduces the anomalous behavior of water regarding its density, diffusion, and solubility, among other dynamic and thermodynamic properties. Extreme confinements suppress phase transitions since fluctuations suppress ordering. The fluid under hydrophilic confinement forms a single wetting layer that gradually wets the wall. From the wetting layer, the low-density liquid structure is formed. The confined fluid presents a first-order liquid-liquid transition, but always at lower temperatures than that observed in the bulk.