Fulfillment of the Conditions of Thermodynamic Equilibrium in an Ice/Electrolyte Solution System with Constrained Geometry

Abstract

For small volumes of a NaCl solution (≃10–6 cm3) with concentrations of 0.1 and 1 M, temperature dependences of the length lof solution columns frozen in thin quartz capillaries (5–10 μm in radius) are obtained. At the temperatures t above –4 and –8°C (for 0.1 and 1 M solutions, respectively), the l(t) dependences are reversible, independent of the direction of changes in temperature, and, hence, correspond to the equilibrium conditions of ice/solution system. From the constant mass condition of the solute, an expression for l(t) is derived that includes only one thermodynamic characteristic, namely, the temperature dependence of the solution concentration in equilibrium with ice. Deviations from the calculated l(t) dependences are observed at a temperatures below –2 and –5°C (for 0.1 and 1 M solutions, respectively), which can be explained by the adhesion of frozen solution to the capillary walls. The arising internal stresses lead to the deviations from the thermodynamic equilibrium conditions known for the bulk systems. On approaching the melting zone, the adhesion is failed because of the formation of thin nonfreezing water interlayers on the quartz surface.