Liquid Capillary Condensates below the Freezing Point

Abstract

Capillary condensates of alcohols between mica surfaces are observed to remain liquid at temperatures up to 30 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C below the freezing point. The maximum size of the liquid condensates at saturation is inversely proportional to the temperature below the melting point, which provides a simple way of determining the solid-liquid interfacial energy. The capillary condensate is clearly distinguished from films adsorbed at an isolated surface in this simple system, which models melting and freezing phenomena in porous solids as well as grain boundary melting in polycrystalline materials.