Chemical reaction facilitates nanoscale mixing
- Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)
- Orlik Software, Wrocław (Poland)
To investigate the nature of mixing in reacting liquids, a two-dimensional system comprising two partly miscible liquids A and B that can form surface-active AB dimers was studied using Molecular Dynamics simulations. In the initial state, A and B occupied different parts of the system and were separated by a planar interface. Due to the A + B ↔ AB reaction, this interface became unstable and the liquids mixed. When the reaction was fast, it facilitated pronounced flows on molecular as well as larger scales. These non-equilibrium motions broke-up large, homogeneous regions into progressively smaller clusters surrounded by the AB dimers. This process substantially enhanced the mixing of A and B. The reaction created a variety of markedly different final morphologies depending on the reaction rate, component miscibility, and other parameters.
- Research Organization:
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Bio-Inspired Energy Science (CBES)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0000989
- OSTI ID:
- 1065504
- Journal Information:
- Soft Matter, Vol. 6 (18); Related Information: CBES partners with Northwestern University (lead); Harvard University; New York University; Pennsylvania State University; University of Michigan; University of Pittsburgh
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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