Critical examination of prewetting and surface melting on caprolactam
Year: 1997
Type: article
Abstract: In a previous study, surface melting on the (001) surface of caprolactam (${\mathrm{C}}_{6}$ ${\mathrm{H}}_{11}$ ON) was reported to proceed in a series of layering transitions, followed by a prewetting transition. We have reproduced the original results and shown that they can be better explained by the wetting of hydrated caprolactam (with ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ O molecules at bridging sites between the caprolactam dimers) on caprolactam, and that such hydration is most likely caused by ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$ O microinclusions in the crystals grown from solution. In agreement with this interpretation, we have also shown that the reported effects are absent on 'dry' surfaces.
Institution: Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2021791146