Coadsorption of two monomer species on a square lattice with first- and second-neighbor interactions

Abstract

We obtain the low-temperature phases and phase transitions of the coadsorption of two monomer species on a semi-infinite square lattice of odd width M, with first- and second-neighbor interactions. We study the cases for which first-neighbor interactions between two monomers of the same species are repulsive, allowing all other interactions to be attractive or repulsive. Most of the numerical results are found to fit exact closed-form expressions in M, thus allowing exact analytic extrapolations to the infinite two-dimensional case (M5‘). @S1063-651X~97!05508-6# While no exact solution of lattice models for the adsorption or coadsorption of gas molecules on surfaces has been analytically derived, when first- and second-neighbor interactions between the adsorbed molecules are considered, lowtemperature numerical studies of one species of monomers adsorbed on a square lattice allow one to obtain closed-form analytic expressions for all possible phases and for the conditions under which phase transitions occur @1#. In this previous work, the surface considered was a semi-infinite M3N square lattice ( N!‘) in the presence of a gas containing one molecular species, with the adsorbed molecules each occupying one site. For this reason, we referred to them as monomers. The system is at thermal equilibrium with the monomer chemical potential energy m depending on the external gas pressure. The interaction energies of an adsorbed monomer are V0 with the lattice, V with any first-neighbor monomer at a distance a, and W with any second-neighbor monomer at a distance a&. The assumption was that the first-neighbor interaction is repulsive, V,0, allowing the second-neighbor interaction to be either attractive or repulsive. The study showed six distinct interaction regions with ‘‘p phases’’ appearing sequentially with increasing external pressure, from the empty lattice phase p0 to the fully covered lattice phase p 15 , as follows @1#.