The effect of substrate waviness on random sequential adsorption packing properties

Abstract

Abstract Random sequential adsorption of spheres on a wavy surface was studied. It was determined how surface structure influences random packing properties such as the packing fraction, the kinetics of packing growth and the two-particle density correlation function. Until the substrate varies within the range one order of magnitude smaller than the particle’s diameter, the properties of the packings obtained do not differ significantly from those on a flat surface. On the other hand, for the higher amplitude of unevenness, the packing fraction, low-density growth kinetics and the density autocorrelation function change significantly, while asymptotic growth kinetics seems to be barely sensitive to surface waviness. Besides fundamental significance, the study suggests that the experimental measurement of the aforementioned basic properties of adsorption monolayers can reveal the surface’s porous structure without investigating the surface itself.