Characterization of van der Waals type bimodal,- lambda,- meta- and spinodal phase transitions in liquid mixtures, solid suspensions and thin films

Confined liquids and solids exhibit transitions between dispersed and aggregated phases when the available space is varied. Within certain volume-packing limits both phases can coexist. Such self-similar conjugated transition states play a crucial role in the formation of solids, metal alloys and colloid crystals. Between first-order bimodal phase transition limits in liquids, solids and their mixtures as well as in thin films van der Waals type of metastable and unstable phase ranges can be identified by second-order lambda and spinodal self-assembly boundaries. They are identified by first-to-fourth order partial derivatives of Gibbs free energy as a function temperature, pressure and composition.152