Wetting, surface melting, and freezing of thin films of methane adsorbed on MgO(100)

Journal Article · Fri Jun 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990 · Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.41.11346· OSTI ID:7093956

Gay, J M; Suzanne, J; Coulomb, J P ^[1]

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1. Centre de Recherche sur les Mecanismes de la Croissance Cristalline Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Departement de Physique, Faculte des Sciences de Luminy, Case 901, 13288 Marseille CEDEX 9, (France)

Neutron-diffraction experiments are reported on thin films of methane (10 layers) adsorbed on magnesium oxide (100) for temperatures ranging from below to above the melting point: 50{le}{ital T}{le}95 K. A continuous wetting transition is observed simultaneously with an increase of the thickness of the disordered layer when the melting point is approached from below. The adsorbed film is stratified (disordered layer on top of ordered layer), and the crystallinity profile is measured at the ordered-disordered phase interface. Above the triple point a few layers remain ordered. The results are discussed and compared with the previous works on surface melting performed by quasielastic neutron scattering.

• OSTI ID: 7093956
• Journal Information: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (USA), Journal Name: Physical Review, B: Condensed Matter; (USA) Vol. 41:16; ISSN 0163-1829; ISSN PRBMD
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

656003* -- Condensed Matter Physics-- Interactions between Beams & Condensed Matter-- (1987-)
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ADSORPTION
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKANES
CHALCOGENIDES
COHERENT SCATTERING
DIFFRACTION
FILMS
FREEZING
HYDROCARBONS
LOW TEMPERATURE
MAGNESIUM COMPOUNDS
MAGNESIUM OXIDES
MELTING POINTS
METHANE
NEUTRON DIFFRACTION
ORDER-DISORDER TRANSFORMATIONS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
SCATTERING
SORPTION
SORPTIVE PROPERTIES
SURFACE PROPERTIES
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES
THIN FILMS
TRANSITION TEMPERATURE
TRIPLE POINT
VERY LOW TEMPERATURE
WETTABILITY