To demonstrate a facile method to control capillary condensation via the design of confined geometric structures, we use a particle self-assembly technique to fabricate porous materials with well-defined pore sizes. Four groups of silica particles were synthesized using the modified Stober method, and these groups of particles were then arranged in closely packed structures. Quantitative predictions of capillary condensation were made based on the Kelvin equation and an approximation of the geometric structures of our closely packed samples. Experimental observations revealed that water uptake at 100% relative humidity reached 40%–50% relative to particle mass across sizes, closely aligning with theoretical predictions for small-particle systems, even though the geometry of some of the confined spaces corresponds to distances smaller than 10 nm. Despite deviation from theoretical predictions that are observed in larger particle systems, and which can be attributed primarily to practical limitations of attainable ordered structures at these scales, this fabrication method shows great potential for the creation of devices that allow facile control of capillary condensation in relevant applications such as vapor capture and humidity control.

中文翻译：

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控制毛细管冷凝的简便方法：基于颗粒的晶体

为了展示一种通过设计受限几何结构来控制毛细管冷凝的简便方法，我们使用颗粒自组装技术来制造具有明确孔径的多孔材料。使用改进的Stober方法合成了四组二氧化硅颗粒，然后将这些颗粒组排列成紧密堆积的结构。毛细管冷凝的定量预测是基于开尔文方程和我们紧密堆积的样品的几何结构的近似值进行的。实验观察表明，在 100% 相对湿度下，相对于不同尺寸的颗粒质量，吸水量达到 40%–50%，这与小颗粒系统的理论预测紧密一致，尽管一些有限空间的几何形状对应的距离小于10纳米。尽管与在较大颗粒系统中观察到的理论预测存在偏差，并且这主要归因于在这些尺度上可实现的有序结构的实际限制，但这种制造方法显示出创建允许在相关中轻松控制毛细管冷凝的装置的巨大潜力。应用，例如蒸​​汽捕获和湿度控制。