Abstract
Supercritical fluids (SCFs), widely utilized in many industries, have long been regarded as homogeneous single-phase media. Recent simulation studies identified different phases (more gas-like or liquid-like) in SCFs at equilibrium, expanding the previous notion but still not addressing non-equilibrium properties of SCFs. Here we reveal the existence of long-lived liquid-like clusters in non-equilibrium SCFs by time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering measurements. Since SCFs in industrial applications frequently operate under dynamic, non-equilibrium conditions rather than strict thermodynamic equilibrium, our findings offer crucial information for improving the use of SCFs in industrial settings, like semiconductor cleaning and plant thermal-hydraulic engineering.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 341 |
| Journal | Communications Physics |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2025 |
Funding
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) (grant No. RS-2024-00349684) and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (internal grant No. 2710007349) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea. This work was also supported by the Glocal University 30 project funded by the Ministry of Education. A portion of this research used resources at the Spallation Neutron Source, a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The beam time was allocated to EQ-SANS on proposal number IPTS-33852. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) (grant No. RS-2024-00349684) and the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (internal grant No. 2710007349) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea. This work was also supported by the Glocal University 30 project funded by the Ministry of Education. A portion of this research used resources at the Spallation Neutron Source, a DOE Office of Science User Facility operated by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The beam time was allocated to EQ-SANS on proposal number IPTS-33852.