Distributions of pore sizes and atomic densities in binary mixtures revealed by molecular dynamics simulations.

Abstract

We report on the results of a molecular dynamics simulation study of porous glassy media, formed in the process of isochoric rapid quenching from a high-temperature liquid state. The transition to a porous solid occurs due to the concurrent processes of phase separation and material solidification. The study is focused on topographies of the model porous structures and their dependence on temperature and average density. To quantify the pore-size distributions, we put forth a scaling relation that provides a satisfactory data collapse in systems with high porosity. We also find that the local density of the solid domains in the porous structures is broadly distributed, and, with increasing average density, a distinct peak in the local density distribution is displaced toward higher values.