2007/08/13 by Masao Iwamatsu, Iwamatsu, Masao
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Electrohydrodynamics and Fluid Dynamics #FOS: Physical sciences #Innovative Microfluidic and Catalytic Techniques Innovation #Microfluidic and Bio-sensing Technologies #Soft Condensed Matter (cond-mat.soft) #cond-mat.soft
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0708.1645
21 pages, 7 figures, Langmuir accepted for publication
arxiv created 2007/08/13 · openalex publication_date 2007/08/13 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The kinetics of droplet and bridge formation within striped nano-capillaries is studied when the wetting film grows via interface-limited growth. The phenomenological time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL)-type model with thermal noise is used and numerically solved using the cell dynamics method. The model is two-dimensional and consists of undersaturated vapor confined within a nano-capillary made of two infinitely wide flat substrates. The surface of the substrate is chemically heterogeneous with a single stripe of lyophilic domain that exerts long-range attractive potential to the vapor molecule. The dynamics of nucleation and subsequent growth of droplet and bridge can be simulated and visualized. In particular, the evolution of the morphology from droplet or bump to bridge is clearly identified. Crucial role played by the substrate potential on the morphology of bridge of nanoscopic size is clarified. Nearly temperature-independent evolution of capillary condensation is predicted when the interface-limited growth dominates. In addition, it is shown that the dynamics of capillary condensation follows the scenario of capillary condensation proposed by Everett and Haynes three decades ago.