1
|
Wang Y, Zhao W, Lee Y, Li Y, Wang Z, Tam KC. Thermo-adaptive interfacial solar evaporation enhanced by dynamic water gating. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6157. [PMID: 39039082 PMCID: PMC11263690 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50279-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Solar-driven evaporation offers a sustainable solution for water purification, but efficiency losses due to heat dissipation and fouling limit its scalability. Herein, we present a bilayer-structured solar evaporator (SDWE) with dynamic fluidic flow mechanism, designed to ensure a thin water supply and self-cleaning capability. The porous polydopamine (PDA) layer on a nickel skeleton provides photothermal functionality and water microchannels, while the thermo-responsive sporopollenin layer on the bottom acts as a switchable water gate. Using confocal laser microscopy and micro-CT, we demonstrate that this unique structure ensures a steady supply of thin water layers, enhancing evaporation by minimizing latent heat at high temperatures. Additionally, the system initiates a self-cleaning process through bulk water convection when temperature drops due to salt accumulation, thus maintaining increased evaporation efficiency. Therefore, the optimized p-SDWE sample achieved a high evaporation rate of 3.58 kg m-2 h-1 using 93.9% solar energy from 1 sun irradiation, and produces 18-22 liters of purified water per square meter of SDWE per day from brine water. This dynamic water transport mechanism surpasses traditional day-night cycles, offering inherent thermal adaptability for continuous, high-efficiency evaporation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yi Wang
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada.
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Weinan Zhao
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Yebin Lee
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Yuning Li
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Zuankai Wang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Kam Chiu Tam
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Xia Q, Pan Y, Liu B, Zhang X, Li E, Shen T, Li S, Xu N, Ding J, Wang C, Vecitis CD, Gao G. Solar-driven abnormal evaporation of nanoconfined water. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadj3760. [PMID: 38820164 PMCID: PMC11141626 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj3760] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024]
Abstract
Intrinsic water evaporation demands a high energy input, which limits the efficacy of conventional interfacial solar evaporators. Here, we propose a nanoconfinement strategy altering inherent properties of water for solar-driven water evaporation using a highly uniform composite of vertically aligned Janus carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The water evaporation from the CNT shows the unexpected diameter-dependent evaporation rate, increasing abnormally with decreasing nanochannel diameter. The evaporation rate of CNT10@AAO evaporator thermodynamically exceeds the theoretical limit (1.47 kg m-2 hour-1 under one sun). A hybrid experimental, theoretical, and molecular simulation approach provided fundamental evidence of different nanoconfined water properties. The decreased number of H-bonds and lower interaction energy barrier of water molecules within CNT and formed water clusters may be one of the reasons for the less evaporative energy activating rapid nanoconfined water vaporization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qiancheng Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Yifan Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
- Laboratoire de Physique des Solides Bât. 510, Université Paris Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Bin Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xin Zhang
- College of Safety Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211816, Jiangsu, China
| | - Enze Li
- Institute of Resources and Environmental Engineering, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization Technology of Coal Waste Resources, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
| | - Tao Shen
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Shuang Li
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, China
| | - Ning Xu
- College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Jie Ding
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Chao Wang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225002, China
| | - Chad D. Vecitis
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Guandao Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environment, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
- Chongqing Innovation Research Institute of Nanjing University, Chongqing 401121, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Zhu J, Li F, Hou Y, Li H, Xu D, Tan J, Du J, Wang S, Liu Z, Wu H, Wang F, Su Y, Cheng HM. Near-room-temperature water-mediated densification of bulk van der Waals materials from their nanosheets. NATURE MATERIALS 2024; 23:604-611. [PMID: 38491148 DOI: 10.1038/s41563-024-01840-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
The conventional fabrication of bulk van der Waals (vdW) materials requires a temperature above 1,000 °C to sinter from the corresponding particulates. Here we report the near-room-temperature densification (for example, ∼45 °C for 10 min) of two-dimensional nanosheets to form strong bulk materials with a porosity of <0.1%, which are mechanically stronger than the conventionally made ones. The mechanistic study shows that the water-mediated activation of van der Waals interactions accounts for the strong and dense bulk materials. Initially, water adsorbed on two-dimensional nanosheets lubricates and promotes alignment. The subsequent extrusion closes the gaps between the aligned nanosheets and densifies them into strong bulk materials. Water extrusion also generates stresses that increase with moulding temperature, and too high a temperature causes intersheet misalignment; therefore, a near-room-temperature moulding process is favoured. This technique provides an energy-efficient alternative to design a wide range of dense bulk van der Waals materials with tailored compositions and properties.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jiuyi Zhu
- Institute of Materials Research, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Mesoscience and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Fei Li
- Institute of Materials Research, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - YuanZhen Hou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, People's Republic of China
| | - Hang Li
- Institute of Materials Research, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Dingxin Xu
- Institute of Materials Research, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Junyang Tan
- Institute of Materials Research, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Jinhong Du
- Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, People's Republic of China
| | - Shaogang Wang
- Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhengbo Liu
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Advanced Energy Storage Materials, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - HengAn Wu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, People's Republic of China
| | - FengChao Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and Design of Materials, Department of Modern Mechanics, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang Su
- Institute of Materials Research, Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China.
| | - Hui-Ming Cheng
- Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, People's Republic of China.
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Energy Materials for Carbon Neutrality, Institute of Technology for Carbon Neutrality, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China.
- Faculty of Materials Science and Energy Engineering, Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Su Y, Liu L, Gao X, Yu W, Hong Y, Liu C. A high-efficient and salt-rejecting 2D film for photothermal evaporation. iScience 2023; 26:107347. [PMID: 37554456 PMCID: PMC10405069 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Revised: 05/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The solar-driven desalination is seen as a sustainable way to combat water scarcity. However, the solar steam generation efficiency has long been restricted by the high vaporization enthalpy of water and low energy density of natural sunlight. We introduced graphene oxide (GO) cross-linked with polyethyleneimine (PEI) as the photothermal material, with the enriched ammonic functional groups in modified GO membrane (GPM) activating water molecules to evaporate with much lower energy consumption. The vaporization enthalpy at the air-film interface is reduced up to 42% in GPM film by tuning the thermodynamic states of water. Consequently, GPM film enables a high evaporation rate of 2.48 kg m-2 h-1 with 95.7% energy conversion efficiency under 1 sun. With the aid of positive charges introduced by hydrolysis of PEI, the GPM exhibits excellent salt resistance and delivers an evaporation rate around 1.8 kg m-2 h-1 when treating 20 wt % NaCl solution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yiru Su
- Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
| | - Lang Liu
- Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
| | - Xuechao Gao
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, 30 Puzhu Road(S), Nanjing 210009, China
| | - Wei Yu
- Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
| | - Ye Hong
- Department of Radiochemistry, China Institute of Atomic Energy, Beijing 102413, China
| | - Chao Liu
- Key Laboratory of Low-Grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Qi Y, Song L, Zhou C, Zhang S. Hydration Activates Dual-Confined Shape-Memory Effects of Cold-Reprogrammable Photonic Crystals. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2210753. [PMID: 36658743 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202210753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2022] [Revised: 12/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Shape-memory photonic crystals (SMPCs) transform the nanoscale deformation of copolymers into structural color through an undifferentiated response to stimuli; however, activatable selective responses are extremely rare. Herein, activatable dual confined shape-memory effects (CSMEs) derived from the remodeling of the interchain hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) in cold-programmable SMPCs are revealed. The first level is the water-triggered reconstruction of interchain H-bonds, which can activate/lock the collapsed skeleton, showing shape recovery/retention in response to ethanol vapor. The second level is the pressure-induced reorganization of interchain H-bonds that results in the recovered skeleton being locked even when exposed to ethanol vapor or water, while the background porous structure can switch between collapse and recovery. Dual CSMEs result from the Laplace pressure difference and the binding effect of interchain H-bonds in the skeleton according to insights of swelling, in situ deformation tracking, multidimensional infrared spectra, and water wetting/evaporation simulations. The signal interference, source code extraction, and color enhancement of structurally colored patterns can be implemented using CSMEs. This work opens up a new method for fabricating activatable responsive structural color and contributes to the expansion of nanophotonic technology in water printing, erasable watermarks, signal amplifiers, and information coding.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yong Qi
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontier Science Center for Smart Materials, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China
| | - Liujun Song
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontier Science Center for Smart Materials, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China
| | - Changtong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontier Science Center for Smart Materials, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China
| | - Shufen Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Frontier Science Center for Smart Materials, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Alibakhshi MA, Kang X, Clymer D, Zhang Z, Vargas A, Meunier V, Wanunu M. Scaled-Up Synthesis of Freestanding Molybdenum Disulfide Membranes for Nanopore Sensing. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2207089. [PMID: 36580439 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202207089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
2D materials are ideal for nanopores with optimal detection sensitivity and resolution. Among these, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) has gained traction as a less hydrophobic material than graphene. However, experiments using 2D nanopores remain challenging due to the lack of scalable methods for high-quality freestanding membranes. Herein, a site-directed, scaled-up synthesis of MoS2 membranes on predrilled nanoapertures on 4-inch wafer substrates with 75% yields is reported. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD), which introduces sulfur and molybdenum dioxide vapors across the sub-100 nm nanoapertures results in exclusive formation of freestanding membranes that seal the apertures. Nucleation and growth near the nanoaperture edges is followed by nanoaperture decoration with MoS2 , which proceeds until a critical flake curvature is achieved, after which fully spanning freestanding membranes form. Intentional blocking of reagent flow through the apertures inhibits MoS2 nucleation around the nanoapertures, promoting the formation of large-crystal monolayer MoS2 membranes. The in situ grown membranes along with facile membrane wetting and nanopore formation using dielectric breakdown enables the recording of dsDNA translocation events at an unprecedentedly high 1 MHz bandwidth. The methods presented here are important steps toward the development of scalable single-layer membrane manufacture for 2D nanofluidics and nanopore applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Xinqi Kang
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - David Clymer
- Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA
| | - Zhuoyu Zhang
- School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, P.R. China
| | - Anthony Vargas
- Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Vincent Meunier
- Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, 12180, USA
| | - Meni Wanunu
- Department of Physics, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Fang R, Pan Z, Zheng J, Wang X, Li R, Yang C, Deng L, Vorobyev AY. Evaporative and Wicking Functionalities at Hot Airflows of Laser Nano-/Microstructured Ti-6Al-4V Material. NANOMATERIALS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 13:218. [PMID: 36616128 PMCID: PMC9823521 DOI: 10.3390/nano13010218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2022] [Revised: 12/30/2022] [Accepted: 12/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
A novel multifunctional material with efficient wicking and evaporative functionalities was fabricated using hierarchical surface nano-/microstructuring by femtosecond laser micromachining. The created material exhibits excellent multifunctional performance. Our experiments in a wind tunnel demonstrate its good wicking and evaporative functionalities under the conditions of high-temperature airflows. An important finding of this work is the significantly enhanced evaporation rate of the created material compared with the free water surface. The obtained results provide a platform for the practical implementation of Maisotsenko-cycle cooling technologies for substantially increasing efficiency in power generation, thermal management, and other evaporation-based technologies. The developed multifunctional material demonstrates long-lasting wicking and evaporative functionalities that are resistant to degradation under high-temperature airflows, indicating its suitability for practical applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ranran Fang
- School of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 2 Chongwen Road, Nanan District, Chongqing 400065, China
| | - Zhonglin Pan
- School of Science, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 2 Chongwen Road, Nanan District, Chongqing 400065, China
| | - Jiangen Zheng
- School of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 2 Chongwen Road, Nanan District, Chongqing 400065, China
| | - Xiaofa Wang
- School of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 2 Chongwen Road, Nanan District, Chongqing 400065, China
| | - Rui Li
- School of Automation, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 2 Chongwen Road, Nanan District, Chongqing 400065, China
| | - Chen Yang
- School of Science, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 2 Chongwen Road, Nanan District, Chongqing 400065, China
| | - Lianrui Deng
- School of Science, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 2 Chongwen Road, Nanan District, Chongqing 400065, China
| | - Anatoliy Y. Vorobyev
- School of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, 2 Chongwen Road, Nanan District, Chongqing 400065, China
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Zhang J, Ding W, Wang Z, Wang H, Hampel U. Microscopic liquid–gas interface effect on liquid wetting. J Colloid Interface Sci 2023; 630:813-822. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.10.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
|
9
|
Ultrahigh evaporative heat transfer measured locally in submicron water films. Sci Rep 2022; 12:22353. [PMID: 36572793 PMCID: PMC9792458 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-26182-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Thin film evaporation is a widely-used thermal management solution for micro/nano-devices with high energy densities. Local measurements of the evaporation rate at a liquid-vapor interface, however, are limited. We present a continuous profile of the evaporation heat transfer coefficient ([Formula: see text]) in the submicron thin film region of a water meniscus obtained through local measurements interpreted by a machine learned surrogate of the physical system. Frequency domain thermoreflectance (FDTR), a non-contact laser-based method with micrometer lateral resolution, is used to induce and measure the meniscus evaporation. A neural network is then trained using finite element simulations to extract the [Formula: see text] profile from the FDTR data. For a substrate superheat of 20 K, the maximum [Formula: see text] is [Formula: see text] MW/[Formula: see text]-K at a film thickness of [Formula: see text] nm. This ultrahigh [Formula: see text] value is two orders of magnitude larger than the heat transfer coefficient for single-phase forced convection or evaporation from a bulk liquid. Under the assumption of constant wall temperature, our profiles of [Formula: see text] and meniscus thickness suggest that 62% of the heat transfer comes from the region lying 0.1-1 μm from the meniscus edge, whereas just 29% comes from the next 100 μm.
Collapse
|
10
|
Lee WC, Ronghe A, Villalobos LF, Huang S, Dakhchoune M, Mensi M, Hsu KJ, Ayappa KG, Agrawal KV. Enhanced Water Evaporation from Å-Scale Graphene Nanopores. ACS NANO 2022; 16:15382-15396. [PMID: 36000823 PMCID: PMC9527801 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.2c07193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/19/2022] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Enhancing the kinetics of liquid-vapor transition from nanoscale confinements is an attractive strategy for developing evaporation and separation applications. The ultimate limit of confinement for evaporation is an atom thick interface hosting angstrom-scale nanopores. Herein, using a combined experimental/computational approach, we report highly enhanced water evaporation rates when angstrom sized oxygen-functionalized graphene nanopores are placed at the liquid-vapor interface. The evaporation flux increases for the smaller nanopores with an enhancement up to 35-fold with respect to the bare liquid-vapor interface. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that oxygen-functionalized nanopores render rapid rotational and translational dynamics to the water molecules due to a reduced and short-lived water-water hydrogen bonding. The potential of mean force (PMF) reveals that the free energy barrier for water evaporation decreases in the presence of nanopores at the atomically thin interface, which further explains the enhancement in evaporation flux. These findings can enable the development of energy-efficient technologies relying on water evaporation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wan-Chi Lee
- Laboratory
of Advanced Separations (LAS), École
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Sion 1950, Switzerland
| | - Anshaj Ronghe
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute
of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
| | - Luis Francisco Villalobos
- Laboratory
of Advanced Separations (LAS), École
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Sion 1950, Switzerland
| | - Shiqi Huang
- Laboratory
of Advanced Separations (LAS), École
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Sion 1950, Switzerland
| | - Mostapha Dakhchoune
- Laboratory
of Advanced Separations (LAS), École
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Sion 1950, Switzerland
| | - Mounir Mensi
- Institut
des Sciences et Ingénierie Chimiques (ISIC), EPFL, Sion 1950, Switzerland
| | - Kuang-Jung Hsu
- Laboratory
of Advanced Separations (LAS), École
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Sion 1950, Switzerland
| | - K. Ganapathy Ayappa
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute
of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India
| | - Kumar Varoon Agrawal
- Laboratory
of Advanced Separations (LAS), École
Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Sion 1950, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Gupta M, Maroo SC. Molecular dynamics simulation of bubble nucleation in hydrophilic nanochannels by surface heating. MOLECULAR SIMULATION 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/08927022.2022.2092616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Manish Gupta
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| | - Shalabh C. Maroo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Evaporation-driven electrokinetic energy conversion: Critical review, parametric analysis and perspectives. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 2022; 305:102708. [PMID: 35640318 DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2022.102708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Energy harvesting from evaporation has become a "hot" topic in the last couple of years. Researchers have speculated on several possible mechanisms. Electrokinetic energy conversion is the least hypothetical one. The basics of pressure-driven electrokinetic phenomena of streaming current and streaming potential have long been established. The regularities of evaporation from porous media are also well known. However, "coupling" of these two classes of phenomena has not, yet, been seriously explored. In this critical review, we will recapitalize and combine the available knowledge from these two fields to produce a coherent picture of electrokinetic electricity generation during evaporation from (nano)porous materials. For illustration, we will consider several configurations, namely, single nanopores, arrays of nanopores, systems with reduced area of electrokinetic-conversion elements and devices with side evaporation from thin nanoporous films. For the latter (practically the only one studied experimentally), we will formulate a simple model describing correlations of system performance with such principal parameters as the nanoporous-layer length, width and thickness as well as the pore size, pore-surface hydrophilicity, effective zeta-potential and electric conductivity in nanopores. These correlations will be qualitatively compared with experimental data available in the literature. We will see that experimental data not always are in agreement with the model predictions, which may be due to simplifying model assumptions but also because the mechanisms are different from the classical electrokinetic energy conversion. In particular, this concerns the mechanisms of conversion of evaporation-driven ion streaming currents into electron currents in external circuits. We will also formulate directions of future experimental and theoretical studies that could help clarify these issues.
Collapse
|
13
|
Shank-Retzlaff M, Taverner YP, Joshi P, Renu S, Chitikela A, Koneru A, Wang Z, Bronsart L, Mohanty P. Capillary-Mediated Vitrification: A Novel Approach for Improving Thermal Stability of Enzymes and Proteins. J Pharm Sci 2022; 111:2280-2287. [DOI: 10.1016/j.xphs.2022.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
14
|
Numerical analysis of evaporation from nanopores using the direct simulation Monte Carlo method. J Mol Liq 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.molliq.2021.118348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
|
15
|
Hakimian A, Mohebinia M, Nazari M, Davoodabadi A, Nazifi S, Huang Z, Bao J, Ghasemi H. Freezing of few nanometers water droplets. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6973. [PMID: 34848730 PMCID: PMC8632967 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27346-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Water-ice transformation of few nm nanodroplets plays a critical role in nature including climate change, microphysics of clouds, survival mechanism of animals in cold environments, and a broad spectrum of technologies. In most of these scenarios, water-ice transformation occurs in a heterogenous mode where nanodroplets are in contact with another medium. Despite computational efforts, experimental probing of this transformation at few nm scales remains unresolved. Here, we report direct probing of water-ice transformation down to 2 nm scale and the length-scale dependence of transformation temperature through two independent metrologies. The transformation temperature shows a sharp length dependence in nanodroplets smaller than 10 nm and for 2 nm droplet, this temperature falls below the homogenous bulk nucleation limit. Contrary to nucleation on curved rigid solid surfaces, ice formation on soft interfaces (omnipresent in nature) can deform the interface leading to suppression of ice nucleation. For soft interfaces, ice nucleation temperature depends on surface modulus. Considering the interfacial deformation, the findings are in good agreement with predictions of classical nucleation theory. This understanding contributes to a greater knowledge of natural phenomena and rational design of anti-icing systems for aviation, wind energy and infrastructures and even cryopreservation systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alireza Hakimian
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 4726 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX, 77204, USA
| | - Mohammadjavad Mohebinia
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Houston, 4726 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX, 77204, USA
| | - Masoumeh Nazari
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 4726 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX, 77204, USA
| | - Ali Davoodabadi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 4726 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX, 77204, USA
| | - Sina Nazifi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 4726 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX, 77204, USA
| | - Zixu Huang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 4726 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX, 77204, USA
| | - Jiming Bao
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Houston, 4726 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX, 77204, USA
| | - Hadi Ghasemi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 4726 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX, 77204, USA.
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Houston, 4726 Calhoun Rd, Houston, TX, 77204, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Ozsipahi M, Akkus Y, Nguyen CT, Beskok A. Energy-Based Interface Detection for Phase Change Processes of Monatomic Fluids in Nanoconfinements. J Phys Chem Lett 2021; 12:8397-8403. [PMID: 34435788 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c02517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
An energy-based liquid-vapor interface detection method is presented using molecular dynamics simulations of liquid menisci confined between two parallel plates under equilibrium and evaporation/condensation conditions. This method defines the liquid-vapor interface at the location where the average kinetic energy of atoms first exceeds the average potential energy imposed by all neighboring molecules. This definition naturally adapts to the location of the menisci relative to the walls and can properly model the behavior of the liquid adsorbed layers. Unlike the density cutoff methods frequently used in the literature that suffer from density layering effects, this new method gives smooth and continuous liquid-vapor interfaces in nanoconfinements. Surface tension values calculated from the equilibrium MD simulations match the Young-Laplace equation better when using the radius of curvatures calculated from this method. Overall, this energy-based liquid-vapor interface detection method can be used in studies of nanoscale phase change processes and other relevant applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mustafa Ozsipahi
- Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75205, United States
| | | | | | - Ali Beskok
- Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75205, United States
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Konch T, Dutta T, Buragohain M, Raidongia K. Remarkable Rate of Water Evaporation through Naked Veins of Natural Tree Leaves. ACS OMEGA 2021; 6:20379-20387. [PMID: 34395986 PMCID: PMC8359162 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.1c02398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
In the form of leaves, nature designs the finest photothermal evaporators, and the tremendous evaporation efficiency of leaves is supported by a precisely designed network of veins. Here, we have demonstrated that the vein network of a natural leaf can be extracted through a simple water-assisted digestion process and exploited for low-energy steam generation. The naked leaf veins exhibit a remarkable flux (evaporation rate, 1.5 kg·m-2·h-1) of capillary evaporation under ambient conditions (25 °C and 30% RH), close to the photothermal material-based evaporators reported in the recent literature. Even inside a dark box, naked veins exhibit an evaporation rate up to 4.5 kg·m-2·h-1 (at 30% relative humidity (RH) and a wind speed of 22 km·h-1). The mechanistic studies performed with variable atmospheric conditions (temperature, humidity, and wind speed) suggest the evaporation process through the naked veins to be a kinetic-limited process. Naked veins with remarkable evaporation efficiency are found to be suitable for applications like water desalination and streaming potential harvesting. Experiments with the naked veins also unveiled that the biofluidic channels in leaves not only exhibit the characteristics of surface charge-governed ionic transport but also support an exceptional water transport velocity of 1444 μm·s-1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tukhar
Jyoti Konch
- Department
of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology
Guwahati, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India
| | - Trisha Dutta
- Department
of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology
Guwahati, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India
| | - Madhurjya Buragohain
- Department
of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology
Guwahati, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India
| | - Kalyan Raidongia
- Department
of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology
Guwahati, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India
- Centre
for Nanotechnology, Indian Institute of
Technology Guwahati, Guwahati 781039, Assam, India
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Li J, Zhang Z, Zhao R, Zhang B, Liang Y, Long R, Liu W, Liu Z. Stack Thermo-Osmotic System for Low-Grade Thermal Energy Conversion. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2021; 13:21371-21378. [PMID: 33905242 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c03395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Thermo-osmotic energy conversion (TOEC) technology, developed from membrane distillation, is an emerging method that has the potential of obtaining electricity efficiently from a low-grade heat source but faces the difficult problem of pump power loss. In this study, we build a novel TOEC system with a multistage architecture that can work without pump assistance. The experiment system, made of cheap commercial materials, can obtain a power density of 1.39 ± 0.25 W/m2, with a heating temperature of 80 °C, and its efficiency increased linearly with the total stage number. A theory calculation shows that a 30-stage system with a specific membrane and a working pressure of 5.0 MPa can obtain an efficiency of 2.72% with a power density of 14.0 W/m2. By a molecular dynamics simulation, it is shown that a high-performance membrane has the potential to work at 40 MPa. This study proves that TOEC technology is a practical and competitive approach to covert low-grade thermal energy into power efficiently.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ji Li
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Zikang Zhang
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Runze Zhao
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Bo Zhang
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Yunmin Liang
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Rui Long
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Wei Liu
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Zhichun Liu
- School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Davoodabadi A, Ghasemi H. Evaporation in nano/molecular materials. Adv Colloid Interface Sci 2021; 290:102385. [PMID: 33662599 DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2021.102385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Evaporation is a physical phenomenon with fundamental significance to both nature and technology ranging from plant transpiration to DNA engineering. Various analytical and empirical relationships have been proposed to characterize evaporation kinetics at macroscopic scales. However, theoretical models to describe the kinetics of evaporation from nano and sub-nanometer (molecular) confinements are absent. On the other hand, the fast advancements in technology concentrated on development of nano/molecular-scale devices demand appropriate models that can accurately predict physics of phase-change in these systems. A thorough understanding of the physics of evaporation in nano/molecular materials is, thus, of critical importance to develop the required models. This understanding is also crucial to explain the intriguing evaporation-related phenomena that only take place when the characteristic length of the system drops to several nanometers. Here, we comprehensively review the underlying physics of evaporation phenomenon and discuss the effects of nano/molecular confinement on evaporation. The role of liquid-wall interface-related phenomena including the effects of disjoining pressure and flow slippage on evaporation from nano/molecular confinements are discussed. Different driving forces that can induce evaporation in small confinements, such as heat transfer, pressure drop, cavitation and density fluctuations are elaborated. Hydrophobic confinement induced evaporation and its potential application for synthetic ion channels are discussed in detail. Evaporation of water as molecular clusters rather than isolated molecules is discussed. Despite the lack of experimental investigations on evaporation at nanoscale, there exist an extensive body of literature that have applied different simulation techniques to predict the phase change behavior of liquids in nanoconfinements. We infer that exploring the effect of electrostatic interactions and flow slippage to enhance evaporation from nanoconduits is an interesting topic for future endeavors. Further future studies could be devoted to developing nano/molecular channels with evaporation-based gating mechanism and utilization of 2D materials to tune energy barrier for evaporation leading to enhanced evaporation.
Collapse
|
20
|
Chen X, Zhu YB, Yu H, Liu JZ, Easton CD, Wang Z, Hu Y, Xie Z, Wu HA, Zhang X, Li D, Wang H. Ultrafast water evaporation through graphene membranes with subnanometer pores for desalination. J Memb Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2020.118934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
|
21
|
Dhattarwal HS, Remsing RC, Kashyap HK. Intercalation-deintercalation of water-in-salt electrolytes in nanoscale hydrophobic confinement. NANOSCALE 2021; 13:4195-4205. [PMID: 33586725 DOI: 10.1039/d0nr08163a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Intercalation-deintercalation of water-in-salt (WIS) electrolytes in nanoscale confinement is an important phenomenon relevant to energy storage and self-assembly applications. In this article, we use molecular simulations to investigate the effects of intersurface separation on the structure and free energy underlying the intercalation-deintercalation of the Li bis(trifluoromethane)sulfonimide ([Li][TFSI]) water-in-salt (WIS) electrolyte confined between nanoscale hydrophobic surfaces. We employ enhanced sampling to estimate the free energy profiles for the intercalation behaviour of WIS in confining sheets at several intersurface separations. We observe that the relative stability of the condensed and vapour phases of WIS in the confinement depends on the separation between the confining surfaces and the WIS concentration. We find that the critical separation at which the condensed and vapour phases are equally stable in confinement depends on the concentration of WIS. The relative height of the free energy barrier also strongly depends on the concentration of [Li][TFSI] inside the confined space, and we find that this concentration dependence can be attributed to changes in line tension. The process of deintercalation passes through vapour tube formation inside the confined space, and this process is initiated by vapour bubble formation. The size of the critical vapour tube required for spontaneous evaporation of WIS from the confinement is also found to depend on the intersurface separation and WIS concentration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Harender S Dhattarwal
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India.
| | - Richard C Remsing
- Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA
| | - Hemant K Kashyap
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India.
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Zheltov S, Pletnev L. Distributions of Two Atoms Collisions over the Surface of the Condensed Phase. EPJ WEB OF CONFERENCES 2021. [DOI: 10.1051/epjconf/202124801022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The processes of heat and mass transfer are closely related to the evaporation of a substance from the surface of the condensed phase. The interaction of outgoing molecules from the surface of the condensed phase with condensed phase molecules plays a fundamental role. A simpler case of evaporation is the departure of atoms from the surface of the condensed phase, i.e. the atoms overcome the potential barrier on the surface of the condensed phase. Depending on the evaporation rate, a Knudsen layer appears above the surface of the condensed phase. In this paper, based on the model of rigid spheres, the density distributions of the collision distances and the average values of the collision distances of two atoms emitted simultaneously from the surface of the condensed phase above the surface are analyzed. Distributions of the collision distance depending on the surface temperature, the size of the potential barrier, and the size of the evaporation area are obtained. Computer experiments were performed using the Monte Carlo method. To obtain the results of numerical simulation, a parallel algorithm adapted to calculations on graphics processors with CUDA technology was developed.
Collapse
|
23
|
Nazari M, Davoodabadi A, Huang D, Luo T, Ghasemi H. Transport Phenomena in Nano/Molecular Confinements. ACS NANO 2020; 14:16348-16391. [PMID: 33253531 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c07372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The transport of fluid and ions in nano/molecular confinements is the governing physics of a myriad of embodiments in nature and technology including human physiology, plants, energy modules, water collection and treatment systems, chemical processes, materials synthesis, and medicine. At nano/molecular scales, the confinement dimension approaches the molecular size and the transport characteristics deviates significantly from that at macro/micro scales. A thorough understanding of physics of transport at these scales and associated fluid properties is undoubtedly critical for future technologies. This compressive review provides an elaborate picture on the promising future applications of nano/molecular transport, highlights experimental and simulation metrologies to probe and comprehend this transport phenomenon, discusses the physics of fluid transport, tunable flow by orders of magnitude, and gating mechanisms at these scales, and lists the advancement in the fabrication methodologies to turn these transport concepts into reality. Properties such as chain-like liquid transport, confined gas transport, surface charge-driven ion transport, physical/chemical ion gates, and ion diodes will provide avenues to devise technologies with enhanced performance inaccessible through macro/micro systems. This review aims to provide a consolidated body of knowledge to accelerate innovation and breakthrough in the above fields.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Masoumeh Nazari
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 4726 Calhoun Road, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
| | - Ali Davoodabadi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 4726 Calhoun Road, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
| | - Dezhao Huang
- Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
| | - Tengfei Luo
- Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, United States
| | - Hadi Ghasemi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, 4726 Calhoun Road, Houston, Texas 77204, United States
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Montazeri K, Abdolhosseini Qomi MJ, Won Y. Solid-like Behaviors Govern Evaporative Transport in Adsorbed Water Nanofilms. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2020; 12:53416-53424. [PMID: 33191726 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c13647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The thermophysical attributes of water molecules confined in a sub-nanometer thickness significantly differ from those in bulk liquid where their molecular behaviors start governing interfacial physics at the nanoscale. In this study, we elucidate nanothin film evaporation by employing a computational approach from a molecular perspective. As the liquid thickness decreases, the solid-like characteristics of adsorbed water nanofilms make the resistance at solid-liquid interfaces or Kapitza resistance significant. Kapitza resistances not only show a strong correlation with the surface wettability but also dominate the overall thermal resistance during evaporation rather than the resistance at evaporating liquid-vapor interfaces. Once the liquid thickness reaches the critical value of 0.5-0.6 nm, the evaporation kinetics is suppressed due to the excessive forces between the liquid and solid atoms. The understanding of molecular-level behaviors explains how a hydrophilic surface plays a role in determining evaporation rates from an atomistic perspective.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kimia Montazeri
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| | | | - Yoonjin Won
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California 92697, United States
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Abstract
Nanoconfined fluids (NCFs), which are confined in nanospaces, exhibit distinctive nanoscale effects, including surface effects, small-size effects, quantum effects, and others. The continuous medium hypothesis in fluid mechanics is not valid in this context because of the comparable characteristic length of spaces and molecular mean free path, and accordingly, the classical continuum theories developed for the bulk fluids usually cannot describe the mass and energy transport of NCFs. In this Perspective, we summarize the nanoscale effects on the thermodynamics, mass transport, flow dynamics, heat transfer, phase change, and energy transport of NCFs and highlight the related representative works. The applications of NCFs in the fields of membrane separation, oil and gas production, energy harvesting and storage, and biological engineering are especially indicated. Currently, the theoretical description framework of NCFs is still missing, and it is expected that this framework can be established by adopting the classical continuum theories with the consideration of nanoscale effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chengzhen Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi 710049, China
| | - Runfeng Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi 710049, China
| | - Zhixiang Zhao
- School of Urban Planning and Municipal Engineering, Xi'an Polytechnic University, Shaanxi 710048, China
| | - Bofeng Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shaanxi 710049, China
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Zhong J, Alibakhshi MA, Xie Q, Riordon J, Xu Y, Duan C, Sinton D. Exploring Anomalous Fluid Behavior at the Nanoscale: Direct Visualization and Quantification via Nanofluidic Devices. Acc Chem Res 2020; 53:347-357. [PMID: 31922716 DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.9b00411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Nanofluidics is the study of fluids under nanoscale confinement, where small-scale effects dictate fluid physics and continuum assumptions are no longer fully valid. At this scale, because of large surface-area-to-volume ratios, the fluid interaction with boundaries becomes more pronounced, and both short-range steric/hydration forces and long-range van der Waals forces and electrostatic forces dictate fluid behavior. These forces lead to a spectrum of anomalous transport and thermodynamic phenomena such as ultrafast water flow, enhanced ion transport, extreme phase transition temperatures, and slow biomolecule diffusion, which have been the subject of extensive computational studies. Experimental quantification of these phenomena was also enabled by the advent of nanofluidic technology, which has transformed challenging nanoscale fluid measurements into facile optical and electrical recordings. Our groups' focus is to investigate nanoscale (2 to 103 nm) fluid behaviors in the context of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics through the development of novel nanofluidic tools, to examine the applicability of classical equations at the nanoscale, to identify the source of deviations, and to explore new physics emerging at this scale. In this Account, we summarize our recent findings regarding liquid transport, vaporization, and condensation of nanoscale-confined liquids. Our study of nanoscale water transport identified an additional resistance in hydrophilic nanochannels, attributed to the reduced cross-sectional area caused by the formation of an immobile hydration layer on the surfaces. In contrast, a reduction in flow resistance was discovered in graphene-coated hydrophobic nanochannels, due to water slippage on the graphene surface. In the context of vaporization, the kinetic-limited evaporation flux was measured and found to exceed the classical theoretical prediction by an order of magnitude in hydrophilic nanochannels/nanopores as a result of the thin film evaporation outside of the apertures. This factor was eliminated by modifying the hydrophobicity of the aperture's exterior surface, enabling the identification of the true kinetic limits inside nanoconfinements and a crucial confinement-dependent evaporation coefficient. The transport-limited evaporation dynamics was also quantified, where experimental results confirmed the parallel diffusion-convection resistance model in both single nanoconduits and nanoporous systems at high accuracy. Furthermore, we have extended our studies to different aspects of condensation in nanoscale-confined spaces. The initiation of condensation for a single-component hydrocarbon was observed to follow the Kelvin equation, whereas for hydrocarbon mixtures it deviated from classical theory because of surface-selective adsorption, which has been corroborated by simulations. Moreover, the condensation dynamics deviates from the bulk and is governed by either vapor transport or liquid transport depending on the confinement scale. Overall, by using novel nanofluidic devices and measurement strategies, our work explores and further verifies the applicability of classical fluid mechanics and thermodynamic equations such as the Navier-Stokes, Kelvin, and Hertz-Knudsen equations at the nanoscale. The results not only deepen our understanding of the fundamental physical phenomena of nanoscale fluids but also have important implications for various industrial applications such as water desalination, oil extraction/recovery, and thermal management. Looking forward, we see tremendous opportunities for nanofluidic devices in probing and quantifying nanoscale fluid thermophysical properties and more broadly enabling nanoscale chemistry and materials science.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Junjie Zhong
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
| | - Mohammad Amin Alibakhshi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Quan Xie
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Jason Riordon
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
| | - Yi Xu
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
| | - Chuanhua Duan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - David Sinton
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Zou A, Poudel S, Raut SP, Maroo SC. Pool Boiling Coupled with Nanoscale Evaporation Using Buried Nanochannels. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:12689-12693. [PMID: 31487190 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b02162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Pool boiling is explicitly coupled with nanoscale evaporation by using buried nanochannels of height ∼728 nm and ∼100 nm to enhance critical heat flux (CHF) by ∼105%. Additional menisci and contact line formation in nanochannels are found to be the dominant factors of CHF enhancement. Wicking assists in creating the additional contact line but does not serve as the primary measurable factor in predicting such enhancement based on CFD simulations and wicking experiments. This work provides clarity on the roles of contact line and wicking in boiling heat transfer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- An Zou
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Link 263 , Syracuse University , Syracuse , New York 13244 , United States
| | - Sajag Poudel
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Link 263 , Syracuse University , Syracuse , New York 13244 , United States
| | - Sidharth P Raut
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Link 263 , Syracuse University , Syracuse , New York 13244 , United States
| | - Shalabh C Maroo
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Link 263 , Syracuse University , Syracuse , New York 13244 , United States
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Hwang J, Yanagita K, Sakamoto K, Hsu WL, Kataoka S, Endo A, Daiguji H. Water Filling and Emptying Kinetics in Two-Dimensional Hexagonal Mesoporous Silica of the Same Pore Diameter but Different Pore Lengths. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:10762-10771. [PMID: 31345034 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b01261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The effect of pore length on the water filling and emptying rates was studied using mesoporous silica (MPS) with same pore diameter but different pore lengths. The pore diameter of the synthesized MPS was ∼8 nm, whereas the average pore lengths were 460, 1,770, and 4000 nm. The gravimetric method was employed to record the time course of the adsorbed mass of water in MPS at 298 K and 1 atm. In both the filling and emptying processes, the relaxation curves (time course of adsorbed mass of water per unit mass of sample) were not significantly related to the pore length. This independence of the initial adsorption and desorption rates on the pore length suggests that the surface of the MPS aggregates is the bottleneck in the overall adsorption and desorption processes and that the initial mass flux in each nanopore is inversely proportional to the pore length. Furthermore, because the relaxation times to reach the equilibrium state were independent of the pore length, the mass flux of water uptake, release, and transport probably increase with an increase in the pore length during the entire adsorption and desorption processes. A transport model to describe these phenomena was proposed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Junho Hwang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering , The University of Tokyo , 7-3-1 Hongo , Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 , Japan
| | - Kosuke Yanagita
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering , The University of Tokyo , 7-3-1 Hongo , Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 , Japan
| | - Kazuki Sakamoto
- Division of Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences , The University of Tokyo , 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha , Kashiwa 277-8563 , Japan
| | - Wei-Lun Hsu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering , The University of Tokyo , 7-3-1 Hongo , Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 , Japan
| | - Sho Kataoka
- National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) , AIST Tsukuba Central 5-2, 1-1-1 Higashi , Tsukuba 305-8565 , Ibaraki , Japan
| | - Akira Endo
- National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) , AIST Tsukuba Central 5-2, 1-1-1 Higashi , Tsukuba 305-8565 , Ibaraki , Japan
| | - Hirofumi Daiguji
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering , The University of Tokyo , 7-3-1 Hongo , Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 , Japan
- Division of Environmental Studies, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences , The University of Tokyo , 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha , Kashiwa 277-8563 , Japan
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Wang H. From Contact Line Structures to Wetting Dynamics. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:10233-10245. [PMID: 31150247 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b00294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
An important reason for the century-long debate concerning wetting dynamics is the lack of decisive information about the contact line. The contact line cannot be treated as a geometric line but is rather a region with complex structures. The contact line regions have been intensively explored in recent years by utilizing advanced nanoscopic experimental and modeling methods. This feature article summarizes the primary observation results and related modeling progress. A framework is then proposed for understanding the wetting dynamics. Basic questions are raised for future research on the partial wetting of nonvolatile as well as volatile liquids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hao Wang
- The Laboratory of Heat and Mass Transport at Micro-Nano Scale, College of Engineering , Peking University , Beijing 100871 , China
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Cihan A, Tokunaga TK, Birkholzer JT. Adsorption and Capillary Condensation-Induced Imbibition in Nanoporous Media. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:9611-9621. [PMID: 31241970 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.9b00813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Multiphase flow phenomena in nanoporous media are encountered in many science and engineering applications. Shales, for example, possessing complex nanopore networks, have considerable importance as source rocks for unconventional oil and gas production and as low-permeability seals for geologic carbon sequestration or nuclear waste disposal. This study presents a theoretical investigation of the processes controlling adsorption, capillary condensation, and imbibition in such nanoporous media, with a particular focus on understanding the effects of fluid-fluid and fluid-pore wall interaction forces in the interconnected nanopore space. Building on a new theoretical framework, we developed a numerical model for the multiphase nanoporous flow and tested it against water vapor uptake measurements conducted on a shale core sample. The model, which is based on the density functional approach, explicitly includes the relevant interaction forces among fluids and solids while allowing for a continuum representation of the porous medium. The experimental data include gravimetrically measured mass changes in an initially dry core sample exposed to varying levels of relative humidity, starting with a low relative humidity (rh = 0.31) followed by a period of a higher relative humidity (rh = 0.81). During this process, water vapor uptake in the dry core is recorded as a function of time. Our model suggests that, under low rh conditions, the flow within the shale sample is controlled by adsorption- and diffusion-type processes. After increasing the rh to 0.81, the uptake of water vapor becomes more significant, and according to our model, this can be explained by capillary condensation followed by immiscible displacement in the core sample. It appears that strong fluid-pore wall attractive forces cause condensation near the inlet, which then induces water imbibition further into sample.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Abdullah Cihan
- Energy Geosciences Division , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
| | - Tetsu K Tokunaga
- Energy Geosciences Division , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
| | - Jens T Birkholzer
- Energy Geosciences Division , Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory , Berkeley , California 94720 , United States
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Lu Z, Kinefuchi I, Wilke KL, Vaartstra G, Wang EN. A unified relationship for evaporation kinetics at low Mach numbers. Nat Commun 2019; 10:2368. [PMID: 31147534 PMCID: PMC6542818 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-10209-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 04/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
We experimentally realized and elucidated kinetically limited evaporation where the molecular gas dynamics close to the liquid–vapour interface dominates the overall transport. This process fundamentally dictates the performance of various evaporative systems and has received significant theoretical interest. However, experimental studies have been limited due to the difficulty of isolating the interfacial thermal resistance. Here, we overcome this challenge using an ultrathin nanoporous membrane in a pure vapour ambient. We demonstrate a fundamental relationship between the evaporation flux and driving potential in a dimensionless form, which unifies kinetically limited evaporation under different working conditions. We model the nonequilibrium gas kinetics and show good agreement between experiments and theory. Our work provides a general figure of merit for evaporative heat transfer as well as design guidelines for achieving efficient evaporation in applications such as water purification, steam generation, and thermal management. Evaporation plays a key role in applications such as cooling and desalination. Here, the authors experimentally demonstrated a unifying relationship between dimensionless flux and driving potential for evaporation kinetics under different working conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhengmao Lu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Ikuya Kinefuchi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan
| | - Kyle L Wilke
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Geoffrey Vaartstra
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Evelyn N Wang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Feng S, Xu Z. Edges facilitate water evaporation through nanoporous graphene. NANOTECHNOLOGY 2019; 30:165401. [PMID: 30625427 DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/aafcbd] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Understanding molecular processes of evaporation at the liquid-vapor interfaces is of critical importance for development of phase-change-related applications. The interfacial behaviors are defined by liquid-vapor equilibrium following thermodynamic rules, while the process through nanopores can be modulated by spatial confinement and intermolecular interaction with the pore. Based on molecular dynamics simulations, we explore water evaporation across nanoporous graphene membranes, which have been recently fabricated by, for example, ion or beam irradiation. The simulation results suggest that the molecular outflow can be facilitated by the graphene edges, boosting the overall evaporative flux by more than 100%. Free-energy analysis shows that the affinity of the graphene edge for water molecules provides a 'hub'-like function in the path of molecular effusion, reducing the free energy barrier for evaporation across the liquid-vapor interface. This prominent edge effect can be further engineered by modifying the atomic charges. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of nanoengineering for the liquid-vapor phase-change processes using nanoporous graphene as a model system, which can find applications in heat transfer and energy conversion with high efficiency.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shizhe Feng
- Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics and Center for Nano and Micro Mechanics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 People's Republic of China
| | | |
Collapse
|
33
|
Akkus Y, Koklu A, Beskok A. Atomic Scale Interfacial Transport at an Extended Evaporating Meniscus. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:4491-4497. [PMID: 30829490 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b04219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Recent developments in fabrication techniques have enabled the production of nano- and Ångström-scale conduits. While scientists are able to conduct experimental studies to demonstrate extreme evaporation rates from these capillaries, theoretical modeling of evaporation from a few nanometers or sub-nanometer meniscus interfaces, where the adsorbed film, the transition film, and the intrinsic region are intertwined, is absent in the literature. Using the computational setup constructed, we first identified the detailed profile of a nanoscale evaporating interface and then discovered the existence of lateral momentum transport within and associated net evaporation from adsorbed liquid layers, which are long believed to be at the equilibrium established between equal rates of evaporation and condensation. Contribution of evaporation from the adsorbed layer increases the effective evaporation area, reducing the excessively estimated evaporation flux values. This work takes the first step toward a comprehensive understanding of atomic/molecular scale interfacial transport at extended evaporating menisci. The modeling strategy used in this study opens an opportunity for computational experimentation of steady-state evaporation and condensation at liquid-vapor interfaces located in capillary nanoconduits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yigit Akkus
- Lyle School of Engineering , Southern Methodist University , Dallas , Texas 75205 , United States
- ASELSAN Inc. , Yenimahalle, Ankara 06172 , Turkey
| | - Anil Koklu
- Lyle School of Engineering , Southern Methodist University , Dallas , Texas 75205 , United States
| | - Ali Beskok
- Lyle School of Engineering , Southern Methodist University , Dallas , Texas 75205 , United States
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Li Y, Chen H, Xiao S, Alibakhshi MA, Lo CW, Lu MC, Duan C. Ultrafast Diameter-Dependent Water Evaporation from Nanopores. ACS NANO 2019; 13:3363-3372. [PMID: 30836750 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.8b09258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Evaporation from nanopores plays an important role in various natural and industrial processes that require efficient heat and mass transfer. The ultimate performance of nanopore-evaporation-based processes is dictated by evaporation kinetics at the liquid-vapor interface, which has yet to be experimentally studied down to the single nanopore level. Here we report unambiguous measurements of kinetically limited intense evaporation from individual hydrophilic nanopores with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic top outer surfaces at 22 °C using nanochannel-connected nanopore devices. Our results show that the evaporation fluxes of nanopores with hydrophilic outer surfaces show a strong diameter dependence with an exponent of nearly -1.5, reaching up to 11-fold of the maximum theoretical predication provided by the classical Hertz-Knudsen relation at a pore diameter of 27 nm. Differently, the evaporation fluxes of nanopores with hydrophobic outer surfaces show a different diameter dependence with an exponent of -0.66, achieving 66% of the maximum theoretical predication at a pore diameter of 28 nm. We discover that the ultrafast diameter-dependent evaporation from nanopores with hydrophilic outer surfaces mainly stems from evaporating water thin films outside of the nanopores. In contrast, the diameter-dependent evaporation from nanopores with hydrophobic outer surfaces is governed by evaporation kinetics inside the nanopores, which indicates that the evaporation coefficient varies in different nanoscale confinements, possibly due to surface-charge-induced concentration changes of hydronium ions. This study enhances our understanding of evaporation at the nanoscale and demonstrates great potential of evaporation from nanopores.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yinxiao Li
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , Boston University , Boston , Massachusetts 02215 , United States
| | - Haowen Chen
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , Boston University , Boston , Massachusetts 02215 , United States
| | - Siyang Xiao
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , Boston University , Boston , Massachusetts 02215 , United States
| | - Mohammad Amin Alibakhshi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , Boston University , Boston , Massachusetts 02215 , United States
| | - Ching-Wen Lo
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , Boston University , Boston , Massachusetts 02215 , United States
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , National Chiao Tung University , Hsinchu 300 , Taiwan
| | - Ming-Chang Lu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , National Chiao Tung University , Hsinchu 300 , Taiwan
| | - Chuanhua Duan
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , Boston University , Boston , Massachusetts 02215 , United States
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Nazari M, Masoudi A, Jafari P, Irajizad P, Kashyap V, Ghasemi H. Ultrahigh Evaporative Heat Fluxes in Nanoconfined Geometries. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2019; 35:78-85. [PMID: 30550284 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b03463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Advancement in high-performance photonics/electronics devices has boosted generated thermal energy, making thermal management a bottleneck for accelerated innovation in these disciplines. Although various methods have been used to tackle the thermal management problem, evaporation with nanometer fluid thickness is one of the most promising approaches for future technological demands. Here, we studied thin-film evaporation in nanochannels under absolute negative pressure in both transient and steady-state conditions. We demonstrated that thin-film evaporation in nanochannels can be a bubble-free process even at temperatures higher than boiling temperature, providing high reliability in thermal management systems. To achieve this bubble-free characteristic, the dimension of nanochannels should be smaller than the critical nucleolus dimension. In transient evaporative conditions, there is a plateau in the velocity of liquid in the nanochannels, which limits the evaporative heat flux. This limit is imposed by liquid viscous dissipation in the moving evaporative meniscus. In contrast, in steady-state condition, unprecedented average interfacial heat flux of 11 ± 2 kW cm-2 is achieved in the nanochannels, which corresponds to liquid velocity of 0.204 m s-1. This ultrahigh heat flux is demonstrated for a long period of time. The vapor outward transport from the interface is both advective and diffusion controlled. The momentum transport of liquid to the interface is the limiting physics of evaporation at steady state. The developed concept and platform provide a rational route to design thermal management technologies for high-performance electronic systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Masoumeh Nazari
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Road , Houston , Texas 77204-4006 , United States
| | - Ali Masoudi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Road , Houston , Texas 77204-4006 , United States
| | - Parham Jafari
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Road , Houston , Texas 77204-4006 , United States
| | - Peyman Irajizad
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Road , Houston , Texas 77204-4006 , United States
| | - Varun Kashyap
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Road , Houston , Texas 77204-4006 , United States
| | - Hadi Ghasemi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering , University of Houston , 4726 Calhoun Road , Houston , Texas 77204-4006 , United States
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Wang Y, Xu J, Zhu H, Wang S, Yang C. Mechanism and Regulation of Spontaneous Water Transport in Graphene-Based Nanoslits. ADVANCED THEORY AND SIMULATIONS 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/adts.201800054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Yuying Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering; Institute of Process Engineering; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100190 China
- College of Chemical Engineering; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100049 China
| | - Junbo Xu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering; Institute of Process Engineering; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100190 China
| | - Huajian Zhu
- College of Chemical Engineering; Nanjing Tech University; Nanjing 210009 China
| | - Steven Wang
- School of Engineering; Newcastle University; Newcastle NE1 7RU UK
| | - Chao Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering; Institute of Process Engineering; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100190 China
- College of Chemical Engineering; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100049 China
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Wang Q, Chen R. Ultrahigh Flux Thin Film Boiling Heat Transfer Through Nanoporous Membranes. NANO LETTERS 2018; 18:3096-3103. [PMID: 29624394 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.8b00648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Phase change heat transfer is fundamentally important for thermal energy conversion and management, such as in electronics with power density over 1 kW/cm2. The critical heat flux (CHF) of phase change heat transfer, either evaporation or boiling, is limited by vapor flux from the liquid-vapor interface, known as the upper limit of heat flux. This limit could in theory be greater than 1 kW/cm2 on a planar surface, but its experimental realization has remained elusive. Here, we utilized nanoporous membranes to realize a new "thin film boiling" regime that resulted in an unprecedentedly high CHF of over 1.2 kW/cm2 on a planar surface, which is within a factor of 4 of the theoretical limit, and can be increased to a higher value if mechanical strength of the membranes can be improved (demonstrated with 1.85 kW/cm2 CHF in this work). The liquid supply is achieved through a simple nanoporous membrane that supports the liquid film where its thickness automatically decreases as heat flux increases. The thin film configuration reduces the conductive thermal resistance, leads to high frequency bubble departure, and provides separate liquid-vapor pathways, therefore significantly enhances the heat transfer. Our work provides a new nanostructuring approach to achieve ultrahigh heat flux in phase change heat transfer and will benefit both theoretical understanding and application in thermal management of high power devices of boiling heat transfer.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Qingyang Wang
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering , University of California, San Diego , La Jolla , California 92093 , United States
| | - Renkun Chen
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering , University of California, San Diego , La Jolla , California 92093 , United States
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Zhong J, Riordon J, Zandavi SH, Xu Y, Persad AH, Mostowfi F, Sinton D. Capillary Condensation in 8 nm Deep Channels. J Phys Chem Lett 2018; 9:497-503. [PMID: 29323911 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.7b03003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Condensation on the nanoscale is essential to understand many natural and synthetic systems relevant to water, air, and energy. Despite its importance, the underlying physics of condensation initiation and propagation remain largely unknown at sub-10 nm, mainly due to the challenges of controlling and probing such small systems. Here we study the condensation of n-propane down to 8 nm confinement in a nanofluidic system, distinct from previous studies at ∼100 nm. The condensation initiates significantly earlier in the 8 nm channels, and it initiates from the entrance, in contrast to channels just 10 times larger. The condensate propagation is observed to be governed by two liquid-vapor interfaces with an interplay between film and bridging effects. We model the experimental results using classical theories and find good agreement, demonstrating that this 8 nm nonpolar fluid system can be treated as a continuum from a thermodynamic perspective, despite having only 10-20 molecular layers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Junjie Zhong
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto , Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
| | - Jason Riordon
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto , Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
| | - Seyed Hadi Zandavi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Yi Xu
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto , Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
| | - Aaron H Persad
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto , Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Farshid Mostowfi
- Schlumberger-Doll Research , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - David Sinton
- Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto , Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Rangharajan KK, Mohana Sundaram P, Conlisk AT, Prakash S. Surface dependent enhancement in water vapor permeation through nanochannels. Analyst 2018; 143:4256-4266. [PMID: 30028451 DOI: 10.1039/c8an00650d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Transmission resistance for selective water vapor permeation through hydrophobic conduits with a varying degree of surface wettability is estimated inside a nanofluidic device.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - A. T. Conlisk
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- The Ohio State University
- Columbus
- USA
| | - Shaurya Prakash
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
- The Ohio State University
- Columbus
- USA
| |
Collapse
|