Role of Solid–Water Interaction and Film Thickness on Nanoscale Water Evaporation Using Molecular Dynamics
Abstract
Nanofilm water evaporation exhibits distinct mechanisms compared to bulk water, being more heavily influenced by surface–water interactions and liquid film thickness. We investigated the unidirectional evaporation rates of water nanofilms (1.5–6.0 nm) on 11 different surfaces under equilibrium conditions using molecular dynamics. We found the rates to decrease by up to 20% when surfaces are intrinsically hydrophilic but to remain unchanged when hydrophobic, compared to free water films. The slowdown was not linked directly to the solid–liquid interfacial water structure but was attributed to perturbations propagated into the bulk liquid─as shown by increased liquid density and a strengthened hydrogen bond network─which raised the free energy barrier for evaporation. For hydrophilic surfaces, these effects persisted beyond 6 nm, while for hydrophobic surfaces, they were confined to
Fields of Study & Subjects
Solar-Powered Water Purification Methods
Nanomaterials and Printing Technologies
Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity
Publication details
- Journal / source
- The Journal of Physical Chemistry C
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Volume
- 130
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 1297–1306
- Publication date
- 10 January 2026
- Language
- EN