Abstract
Scaling of the hysteresis loop in a close-to-equilibrium adsorption-desorption (CEAD) process is explored. We consider the response of the CEAD process to a chemical potential which varies harmonically with time, = μav + μ0sin (2πt/τ). μav corresponds to the coverage ϑ = 1/2 at equilibrium. The cycle time τ is assumed to be sufficiently large so that the system is in thermal equilibrium at all times. The area of the adsorption-desorption cycle loop scales as ∝ μ0α τ−β. We show that for growth-controlled hysteresis (GCH), i.e. in the limit of a small nucleation time τn << τ, α = 1/2 and β = 1/2 for GCH, and confirm this prediction by numerical simulation of a simple model. Possible experimental checks of these predictions are discussed.
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