Solid–liquid phase transition under confinement

The confinement of fluid in nanopores is a common occurrence in sensors and devices. Therefore understanding the phase equilibria, and having knowledge of structural and transport properties, of confined fluids is important in the development of new technologies for manufacturing and in the modification of current methods. Interestingly, the phase behavior of fluid in porous material is dramatically different from those of a bulk fluid because of the competition of fluid–fluid and fluid–wall interaction energies. These geometric constraints and the presence of external forces are the primary sources for a range of different phase transitions, such as layering, prewetting, and capillary condensation and a shift in critical properties and melting/freezing properties (Gelb et al. 1999).