The peculiarities of phase transitions in adsorbed layers

Two-dimensional phase transitions are the most interesting phenomena discovered in the field of physical adsorption. The purpose of the article is to show the main changes that occur in our understanding of the nature of various “two-dimensional” phases recently. The special attention pays here to the results obtained by computer simulation of two classical adsorption systems N2/graphite and C6H6/graphite. Approximation of two-dimensional behaviour, effects of influence of the periodicity of adsorption potential and effects of anisotropy of intermolecular potential on the properties of adsorbed layers are reviewed. © 1993 IUPAC