Kinetics of Capillary Condensation in a Nanoscale Pore

Abstract

The rate of growth of capillary condensates in a model wedgelike pore has been studied using the surface force apparatus. The method described allows the direct measurement of the diffusion-limited growth of liquid condensates with interface radii of curvature as small as 20 nm. The observed rates of condensation of vapors of $n$-pentane, $n$-hexane, cyclohexane, and water are close to, but consistently lower than, values calculated from a model based on Langmuir's theory of droplet growth.