Abstract
Most previous studies on nanofluidic motions were focused on liquid-solid interactions, with the important role of gas phase being ignored. Through a molecular dynamics simulation, we show that the gas-liquid interaction can be an indispensable factor in nanoenvironments. Gas molecules in relatively large nanochannels can be dissolved in the liquid during pressure-induced infiltration, leading to the phenomenon of "nonoutflow". By contrast, gas molecules tend to form clusters in relatively small nanochannels, which triggers liquid defiltration at a reduced pressure. The results qualitatively fit with the observations in a high-pressure-resting experiment on nanoporous silica gels.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2355-2359 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of the American Chemical Society |
| Volume | 129 |
| Issue number | 8 |
| Early online date | 6 Feb 2007 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2007 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The numerical study was supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. CMS-0407743 and CMS-0643726. The discussion and the pressure induced infiltration experiment were supported by the Army Research Office under Grant No. W911NF-05-1-0288.