Heterogeneous melting of methane confined in nano-pores.

The melting transition of methane adsorbed in nanopores has been studied and compared in two types of structures: carbon slits pores and square shaped channels. We show that the nano-confinement not only modifies the temperatures of phase transformation but also induces strong space heterogeneity of the adsorbate. We emphasize the role of the structural heterogeneity on the mechanism of melting: in nanometric pores, each adsorbed layer exhibits different mechanisms of structural transformation and the notion of a unique transition temperature is not well defined.

Influence of extra-framework cations on the adsorption properties of X-faujasite systems: microcalorimetry and molecular simulations.

Isotherms and differential enthalpies of adsorption are obtained for nitrogen at ambient temperature on monovalent (Li(+), Na(+), K(+)) and divalent (Ca(2+), Ba(2+), Sr(2+), Mn(2+)) substituted X-faujasite systems by microcalorimetry measurements. These experimental data are compared with those obtained by combining grand canonical Monte Carlo simulations and newly derived force fields for describing the interactions between the extra-framework cations and the adsorbates obtained from a simple model based only on the intrinsic properties of the cations. It is the first time that such good qualitative agreement is reported between experiment and simulation for a series of both monovalent and divalent cations.