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arXiv · 0705.2348

Water confined in nanopores: spontaneous formation of microcavities

John Russo·Simone Melchionna·Francesco De Luca·Cinzia Casieri
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Abstract

Molecular Dynamics simulations of water confined in nanometer sized, hydrophobic channels show that water forms localized cavities for pore diameter ~ 2.0 nm. The cavities present non-spherical shape and lay preferentially adjacent to the confining wall inducing a peculiar form to the liquid exposed surface. The regime of localized cavitation appears to be correlated with the formation of a vapor layer, as predicted by the Lum-Chandler-Weeks theory, implying partial filling of the pore.

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John Russo, Simone Melchionna, Francesco De Luca, Cinzia Casieri. 2007-05-16. Water confined in nanopores: spontaneous formation of microcavities. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.76.195403

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