Orientational and phase-coexistence behaviour of hard rod-sphere mixtures

Results are presented from Monte Carlo simulations of bulk mixtures of hard Gaussian overlap particles with an aspect ratio of 3:1 and hard spheres with diameters equal to the breadths of the rods. For sphere number-concentrations of 50% and lower, compression of the isotropic fluid results in formation of a homogeneous (i.e., compositionally mixed) nematic phase. The volume fraction of this isotropic-nematic transition is found to increase approximately linearly with sphere concentration. On compression to higher volume fractions, however, this homogeneous nematic phase separates out into coexisting nematic and isotropic phases. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier B.V.