Phases of Neon, Xenon, and Methane adsorbed on nanotube bundles

We explore the behavior of neon, xenon, and methane filmas adsorbed on the external surface of a bundle of carbon nanotubes. The methods used are classical: a ground state calculation, by grand potential energy minimization, and the grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) method of simulation. Our results are similar to those found recently in a GCMC study of Ar and Kr. At low chemical potential (pressure) the particles form a quasi-one dimensional phase within the groove formed by two contiguous tubes. At higher chemical potential, there occurs a "three-stripe" phase aligned parallel to the groove (except for xenon). This is followed by monolayer and bilayer phases. The low temperature monolayer phase is striped; the number of stripes per nanotube is a quantized function of the adatom size. In the neon case, the bilayer regime also includes a second layer groove phase. Our results are compared with recent thermal and diffraction experiments. We find no evidence of a zig-zag phase reported recently

Breakdown of Kinetic Compensation Effect in Physical Desorption

The kinetic compensation effect (KCE), observed in many fields of science, is the systematic variation in the apparent magnitudes of the Arrhenius parameters $E_a$, the energy of activation, and $\nu$, the preexponential factor, as a response to perturbations. If, in a series of closely related activated processes, these parameters exhibit a strong linear correlation, it is expected that an isokinetic relation will occur, then the rates $k$ become the same at a common compensation temperature $T_c$. The reality of these two phenomena continues to be debated as they have not been explicitly demonstrated and their physical origins remain poorly understood. Using kinetic Monte Carlo simulations on a model interface, we explore how site and adsorbate interactions influence the Arrhenius parameters during a typical desorption process. We find that their transient variations result in a net partial compensation, due to the variations in the prefactor not being large enough to completely offset those in $E_a$, both in plots that exhibit a high degree of linearity and in curved non-Arrhenius plots. In addition, the observed isokinetic relation arises due to a transition to a non-interacting regime, and not due to compensation between $E_a$ and $\ln{\nu}$. We expect our results to provide a deeper insight into the microscopic events that originate compensation effects and isokinetic relations in our system, and in other fields where these effects have been reported.Comment: 11 pages, 17 figures, 3 table

Dilation-induced phases of gases absorbed within a bundle of carbon nanotubes

A study is presented of the effects of gas (especially H2) absorption within the interstitial channels of a bundle of carbon nanotubes. The ground state of the system is determined by minimizing the total energy, which includes the molecules' interaction with the tubes, the inter-tube interaction, and the molecules' mutual interaction (which is screened by the tubes). The consequences of swelling include a significant increase in the gas uptake and a 3 per cent increase in the tubes' breathing mode frecuency.Comment: 4 page