The application of thermodynamic perturbation theory to the calculation of excess free energy of small systems: 1. The study of the dimensional dependence of specific free energy of small droplets

Abstract

Fundamentals of the application of the method of thermodynamic perturbation theory to finding the excess free energy of small objects were analyzed. The size dependence of the specific surface free energy of small droplets of a simple Lennard-Jones fluid, water, and metal melts was studied in the first and second approximations of the perturbation theory. It was established that, for all studied systems, the size dependence of the surface tension was satisfactorily described by Tolman’s formula. At small particle radii, Rusanov’s formula was well fulfilled.