On the consistency of NVT, NPT, μVT and Gibbs ensembles in the framework of kinetic Monte Carlo - Fluid phase equilibria and adsorption of pure component systems

This paper aims to show the consistency between simulations of fluid phase properties, obtained with various ensembles, developed within the framework of kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) simulation: NVT (canonical), NPT (isothermal-isobaric systems), μVT (grand canonical) and Gibbs ensembles, to ensure the reliability of the kMC methodology. The advantages of the kMC scheme, as compared to the conventional Metropolis Monte Carlo, are: (1) accurate determination of the chemical potentials compared to the Widom insertion method, and (2) a rejection-free algorithm, making the implementation of the kMC scheme simpler. For internal consistency in a grand canonical ensemble simulation, we have developed a means to calculate the intrinsic chemical potential of the system accurately, which must be the same (within statistical error of the simulation) as the specified chemical potential to ensure convergence to equilibrium. We test the consistency of canonical (NVT-kMC) and grand canonical (GC-kMC) ensembles for argon adsorption at 87 K and 120 K in a uniform open-ended slit pore, and hence derive governing factors affecting hysteresis in the isotherm and the microscopic mechanisms of condensation and evaporation.