Which liquids have liquid-liquid transitions, and why? · revision history

Revision 2

Accepted · core change · record

Changes against revision 1:

Title · changed
Revision 1: Which liquids have liquid-liquid transitions, and why
Revision 2: Which liquids have liquid-liquid transitions, and why?
Plain
Besides water, a few substances such as phosphorus and sulfur show a jump between two liquid forms, while for others the claim is disputed. There is no rule that says which liquids should have such a transition.
Precise · changed · core
Revision 1: First-order liquid-liquid transitions are reported in phosphorus and sulfur at high pressure and temperature and are debated in Si, SiO2, triphenyl phosphite and some metallic glass formers. Find a criterion based on interaction potential and local structure (tetrahedral order, two competing local structures, softness of the repulsion) that predicts which single-component liquids show a liquid-liquid transition in the stable or metastable range, and test it across these systems.
Revision 2: First-order liquid-liquid transitions are reported in phosphorus and sulfur at high pressure and temperature and are debated in Si, $\mathrm{SiO_2}$, triphenyl phosphite and some metallic glass formers. Find a criterion based on interaction potential and local structure (tetrahedral order, two competing local structures, softness of the repulsion) that predicts which single-component liquids show a liquid-liquid transition in the stable or metastable range, and test it across these systems.
Settled by
A criterion that correctly classifies a set of model liquids in simulation and the established experimental cases, with predictions for untested substances later confirmed.
Kind
phenomenon
Answer type
classification
References
(empty)
Literature status
open
Status note
A liquid-liquid transition ending at a critical point was reported in sulfur in 2020 (Henry et al., Nature, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2593-1); no general criterion exists (2026).
Posed since
(empty)

Decisions