Supercritical CO₂-induced atomistic lubrication for water flow in a rough hydrophilic nanochannel

Journal Article · 23 October 2018 · Nanoscale

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/C8NR06204H · OSTI ID:1483970

Ho, Tuan A.  ^[1]; Wang, Yifeng ^[2]; Ilgen, Anastasia  ^[1]; Criscenti, Louise J.  ^[1]; Tenney, Craig M. ^[3]

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1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Geochemistry Department
2. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Nuclear Waste Disposal Research and Analysis Department
3. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Nuclear Incident Response Program Department

We report a fluid flow in a nanochannel highly depends on the wettability of the channel surface to the fluid. The permeability of the nanochannel is usually very low, largely due to the adhesion of fluid at the solid interfaces. Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we demonstrate that the flow of water in a nanochannel with rough hydrophilic surfaces can be significantly enhanced by the presence of a thin layer of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂) at the water–solid interfaces. The thin scCO₂ layer acts like an atomistic lubricant that transforms a hydrophilic interface into a super-hydrophobic one and triggers a transition from a stick- to- a slip boundary condition for a nanoscale flow. Here, this work provides an atomistic insight into multicomponent interactions in nanochannels and illustrates that such interactions can be manipulated, if needed, to increase the throughput and energy efficiency of nanofluidic systems.

• Research Organization: Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Center for Frontiers of Subsurface Energy Security (CFSES); Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525; SC0001114
• OSTI ID: 1483970
• Report Number(s): SAND--2018-11997J; 668932
• Journal Information: Nanoscale, Journal Name: Nanoscale Journal Issue: 42 Vol. 10; ISSN NANOHL; ISSN 2040-3364
• Publisher: Royal Society of ChemistryCopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English