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Updated: Feb 5, 2026

Atomically Traceable Nanostructure Fabrication
Published on: July 17, 2015
Acoustothermal Atomization of Water Nanofilms
Rohit Pillai1, Matthew K Borg1, Jason M Reese1
1School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FB, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We report nonequilibrium molecular simulations of the vibration-induced heating of nanoscale-thick water layers on a metal substrate. In addition to experimentally confirmed acoustothermal evaporation, we observe hitherto unmapped nucleate and film boiling regimes, accompanied by the generation of unprecedented heat fluxes [∼O(10^{9}) W/m^{2}]. We develop a universal scaling parameter to classify the heat-transfer regimes and to predict the thickness of the residual nonevaporating liquid layer. The results find broad application to systems involving drying, coatings, and sprays.
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