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Published on: August 18, 2018
Observation of Interfacial Instability of an Ultrathin Water Film
Yoko Tomo1, Sarthak Nag1,2, Hiroshi Takamatsu1
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan.
Abstract:
We observed the instability of a few-nanometer-thick water film encapsulated inside a graphene nanoscroll using transmission electron microscopy. The film, that was left after recession of a meniscus, formed ripples along the length of the nanoscroll with a distance only 20%-44% of that predicted by the classical Plateau-Rayleigh instability theory. The results were explained by a theoretical analysis that incorporates the effect of the van der Waals interactions between the water film and the graphene layers. We derived important insights into the behavior of liquid under nanoscale confinement and in nanofluidic systems.
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