Anisotropic lattice models of electrolytes

Systems of charged particles on anisotropic three-dimensional lattices are investigated theoretically using Debye-Huckel theory. It is found that the thermodynamics of these systems strongly depends on the degree of anisotropy. For weakly anisotropic simple cubic lattices, the results indicate the existence of order-disorder phase transitions and a tricritical point, while the possibility of low-density gas-liquid coexistence is suppressed. For strongly anisotropic lattices this picture changes dramatically: The low-density gas-liquid phase separation reappears and the phase diagram exhibits critical, tricritical, and triple points. For body-centered lattices, the low-density gas-liquid phase coexistence is suppressed for all degrees of anisotropy. These results show that the effect of anisotropy in lattice models of electrolytes amounts to reduction of spatial dimensionality. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.