Gas Diffusion at the Nano Scale

Abstract

The thermodynamic and transport properties of gases confined at the nano scale are considerably different than those at the macro scale. At the nano scale, quantum size effects (QSE) become important and changes the behavior of gases. In this study, the diffusion coefficients of monatomic Fermi and Bose gases are analytically derived by considering QSE. The influences of QSE and quantum degeneracy on the diffusion coefficients are examined separately to analyze these effects individually. The variations of the ratio of diffusion coefficients of He3 and He4 gases with the concentration of He3 are analyzed for both low and high density conditions.

Keywords

• quantum size effects, nano scale diffusion