Density functional study of the pressure tensor for inhomogeneous Lennard–Jones fluids

Based on classical density functional theory, an expression of the pressure tensor for inhomogeneous fluids is presented. This takes into account greater correlation between particles, especially for systems that are geometrically confined or involve an interface. The density and pressure components of Lennard-Jones fluids confined in hard and softened nano-cavities are calculated. A comparison between the results of this work and IK expression suggests that the agreement depends on temperature. The interfacial tension for hard sphere fluids agrees well with the Monte Carlo result when the bulk density is not too large. The results of the solid-fluid interfacial tension for Lennard-Jones fluids demonstrate that different types of external potentials modulate the interfacial tension in different manners.