From mixing-demixing to condensation-evaporation phase transition in binary liquids

Summary Binary-fluid mixtures show first-order phase transition phenomena which are either classified as mixing-demixing (phase separation), or as condensation-evaporation. The localization of the transition lines, the characterization of the new phases, and the analysis of the parameters which force model systems to choose one of the two transition mechanisms is the aim of this study. We performed both parallel-molecular-dynamics simulations and integral-equation theory calculations on binary mixtures of Lennard-Jones particles. By fixing the composition and by varying the interaction strength, we found a continuous change between the two kinds of transition mechanisms. Theoretical and simulation results are compared with each other and a quantitative agreement i8s found. However, the simultation analysis appears to be more promising since, in contrast to the integral-equation theory in which the spinodal lines can only be approched, information on the microscopic structure of the new phases can be obtained. Paper presented at the I International Conference on Scaling Concepts and Complex Fluids, Copenello, Italy, July 4–8, 1994.