Effects of confinement on mechanical, structural and thermodynamic properties of uniform fluids are very well understood. In contrast, a general theory based on statistical thermodynamics for confined nonuniform and non-isotropic phases, such as the lamellar phase, is in its infancy. In this review we focus on the lamellar phase confined in a slit or in a pipe in order to illustrate various effects of confinement. We limit ourselves to the results obtained by M. Tasinkevych, V. Babin and the author for lamellar phases in oil-water-surfactant mixtures within a generic semi-microscopic model, using a mean-field approximation. We show that compared to isotropic fluids the excess grand potential contains additional terms associated with structural deformations. These terms depend on the type of the confining walls, the shape of the container and on the thickness of the lamella. As a result of the dependence of the structure of the confined lamellar phase on the shape of the container, capillary lamellarization and capillary delamellarization is found in slits and in pipes respectively.
Recent developments in the statistical theory of simple fluids in a film geometry near bulk criticality is reviewed.We summarize results obtained by exact or approximate, but very accurate methods within Ising model. Particular attention is paid to the properties of the measurable solvation force and its relation to the structure of the confined system, in the Ising model given by magnetization profiles. Relevance of the reviewed results for various physical systems is briefly discussed.
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