Liquid-solid transition of xenon on graphite: a vapor pressure isotherm study of two-dimensional melting

Thesis/Dissertation · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1986

OSTI ID:6510861

Colella, N J

A high precision vapor-pressure isotherm study of the melting transition of near monolayer xenon adsorbed on Union Carbide's ZYX exfoliated graphite was performed. The data are analyzed in terms of the film isothermal compressibility, K/sub T/. A sharp peak in K/sub T/ is identified which occurs in the low temperature data as a first order melting transition. As the temperature is increased, the amplitude of the peak decreases, reaching zero at a tricritical temperature, T/sub trc/ = 152 +/- 6 K. On the basis of these results and results of other studies, it is concluded that the melting is continuous above this temperature. A temperature independent, weak, and relatively broad contribution to K/sub T/ underlies the sharp peak at all temperatures studied; possible origins of this component are discussed.

• Research Organization: Carnegie-Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6510861
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS
GRAPHITE
SORPTIVE PROPERTIES
XENON
ADSORPTION
COMPRESSIBILITY
ISOTHERMS
LOW TEMPERATURE
MELTING
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
THIN FILMS
CARBON
ELEMENTAL MINERALS
ELEMENTS
FILMS
FLUIDS
GASES
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
MINERALS
NONMETALS
RARE GASES
SORPTION
SURFACE PROPERTIES
360603* - Materials- Properties
650000 - Physics (1980-)