Thermodynamics and structure of fluids physisorbed on nanotubes
Open Access
Author:
Urban, Nathan Mark
Graduate Program:
Physics
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
June 29, 2006
Committee Members:
Milton Walter Cole, Committee Chair/Co-Chair James Bernhard Anderson, Committee Member Jayanth R Banavar, Committee Member Vincent Henry Crespi, Committee Member
The thermodynamics and structure of atoms and molecules physically adsorbed (physisorbed) onto cylindrical surfaces at low temperatures is studied theoretically for two systems: classical argon adsorbed onto the external surface of a bundle of carbon nanotubes, and quantum molecular hydrogen adsorbed within a magnesium oxide nanopore.
The transition from quasi-one dimensional physics to two and three dimensional physics in these systems is characterized through analysis of density distributions, pair correlation functions, effective potentials, and heat capacities. The primary tool of investigation is Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulation of classical and quantum statistical mechanics. Semi-analytic results are also obtained for one dimensional, quasi-one dimensional, and two dimensional systems.
