The liquid–gas interface of oxygen–nitrogen solutions 2: Description in the Framework of the van der Waals gradient theory

Abstract

The van der Waals gradient theory (vdW GT) is used to calculate surface tension, density profiles, adsorption, the Tolman length and to determine the position of dividing surfaces in the liquid–gas interface of an oxygen–nitrogen solution. The Helmholtz energy density (HED) is determined via an equation of state (EOS), unified for a liquid and gas, which describes stable, metastable and two-phase states of solutions. The influence parameters are calculated from data on the surface tension of pure components with the use of the mixing rule. At temperatures T > 100 K the vdW GT describes experimental data on the surface tension of oxygen–nitrogen solutions [V.G. Baidakov, A.M. Kaverin, V.N. Andbaeva, The liquid–gas interface of oxygen–nitrogen solutions: 1. Surface tension, Fluid Phase Equilib. 270 (2008) 116–120] within the experimental error. It is shown that the Tolman length, which determines the dependence of surface tension on the curvature of the dividing surface, depends considerably on the solution concentration.