Single-bubble dynamics in nanopores: Transition between homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
When applying a voltage bias across a thin nanopore, localized Joule heating can lead to single-bubble nucleation, offering a unique platform for studying nanoscale bubble behavior, which is still poorly understood. Accordingly, we investigate bubble nucleation and collapse inside solid-state nanopores filled with electrolyte solutions and find that there exists a clear correlation between homo/heterogeneous bubble nucleation and the pore diameter. As the pore diameter is increased from 280 to 525 nm, the nucleation regime transitions from predominantly periodic homogeneous nucleation to a nonperiodic mixture of homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation. A transition barrier between the homogeneous and heterogeneous nucleation regimes is defined by considering the relative free-energy costs of cluster formation. A thermodynamic model considering the transition barrier and contact-line pinning on curved surfaces is constructed, which determines the possibility of heterogeneous nucleation. It is shown that the experimental bubble generation behavior is closely captured by our thermodynamic analysis, providing important information for controlling the periodic homogeneous nucleation of bubbles in nanopores.
Date Issued
2020-12-21
Date Acceptance
2020-11-20
Citation
Physical Review Research, 2020, 2 (4), pp.1-14
ISSN
2643-1564
Publisher
American Physical Society
Start Page
1
End Page
14
Journal / Book Title
Physical Review Research
Volume
2
Issue
4
Copyright Statement
© 2020 The Author(s). Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.
License URL
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Petronas Research Sdn. Bhd.
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000605508300007&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
EP/S019545/1
EP/T03338X/1
EP/K003976/1
N/A
EP/T000414/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Physical Sciences
Physics, Multidisciplinary
Physics
GROWTH
WATER
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
ARTN 043400
Date Publish Online
2020-12-21