Local chemical potentials and pressures in heterogeneous systems: Adsorptive, absorptive, interfaces

Abstract

Equations self-consistently describing chemical and mechanical equilibria in heterogeneous systems are derived. The equations are based on the lattice gas model using discrete distributions of molecules in space (on a scale comparable to molecular size) and continuum distributions of molecules (at short distances inside the cells) during their translational and vibrational motions. It is shown that the theory provides a unified description of the equilibrium distributions of molecules in three aggregate states and at their interfaces. Potential functions of intermolecular interactions (such as Mie pair potentials) in several coordination spheres that determine the compressibility of the lattice structure are considered. For simplicity, it is assumed that differences between the sizes of mixture components are small. Expressions for the local components of the pressure tensor inside multicomponent solid phases and heterogeneous systems (adsorptive, absorptive, and interfaces) are obtained. It is established that they can be used to calculate the lattice parameters of deforming phases and the thermodynamic characteristics of interfaces, including surface tension. The tensor nature of the chemical potential in heterogeneous systems is discussed.