Size distribution and interfacial properties CO-islands at coexistence in the first-order transition of the ZGB model

E.S, LOSCAR; E.V. ALBANO

Bariloche, Argentina

Workshop; IX Latin American Workshop on Nonlinear Phenomena (LAWNP05); 2005

Instituto Balseiro, Centro Atómico Bariloche

The ZGB model (Ziff-Gulari-Barshad, Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 2553,(1986)) for the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide is studied using the constant coverage ensemble. We present a detailed study of the first-order irreversible critical behavior focused on both the size distribution of CO-islands at different coverages and their interfacial properties. It is found that nucleation occurs exhibiting scale-invariance of the island size distribution. The upper spinodal point and the critical nuclei size can be obtained studying this distribution. The effects of the interface roughness and the shape of the massive CO-cluster on the CO-pressure is also analyzed.