Study of Electric Field-Induced Evaporation Like Process and Nucleation in Nanoscale

Abstract

A proposal is made to demonstrate features of thermodynamic evaporation at the nanoscale using only an external electric field. The consequences of exposure to both uniform and nonuniform electric field on the water nanofilms are analyzed through molecular dynamics simulations. The temporal evolution of temperature and molecular nucleation under uniform electric field resembles evaporation at high heat. The temperature fluctuations of the system are analyzed from the density variation of the system, which has received no heat input from outside. Evaporation like process and nucleation from the water surface is described as a systematic polarization of the water molecules in the presence of electric field. The nucleation of the vapor bubble with a nonuniform electric field also shows similarity with heat-induced pool boiling. The reason behind isolated nucleation is analyzed from the temperature map of the system at different time instants. Possible surface instabilities due to the exposure of electric field on water nanolayer are also elaborated for both uniform and nonuniform cases.