Warshavsky V B, Zeng X C
Department of Chemistry, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 68588, USA.
Phys Rev Lett. 2002 Dec 9;89(24):246104. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.89.246104. Epub 2002 Nov 22.
The effect of a uniform electric field on interfacial properties of dipolar-quadrupolar fluids is investigated by using the density-functional theory. As in the case of purely dipolar fluids the (thermodynamic) surface tension is always altered by the external field, regardless of the direction of the field. However, unlike the purely dipolar fluids, for two given external fields with the same strength but exactly opposite direction the magnitude of variation in the surface tension is different. This apparent symmetry breaking by reversing the field direction suggests a new molecular mechanism to explain the phenomenon of sign preference in droplet formation on charged condensation centers.
利用密度泛函理论研究了均匀电场对偶极 - 四极流体界面性质的影响。与纯偶极流体的情况一样，（热力学）表面张力总是会受到外场的影响，而与场的方向无关。然而，与纯偶极流体不同的是，对于两个强度相同但方向完全相反的给定外场，表面张力变化的幅度是不同的。通过反转场方向而出现的这种明显的对称性破缺，为解释带电凝聚中心上液滴形成中的符号偏好现象提供了一种新的分子机制。
Zotero 插件