Molecular dynamics study of oil detachment from an amorphous silica surface in water medium

In this paper, the mechanism of oil detachment from optical glass in water medium is studied by using molecular dynamics simulation. At the beginning, some undecane molecules are adsorbed on the amorphous silica surface to get contaminated glass. Upon addition of 6000 water molecules, most of the undecane molecules on the substrate surface can be detached from an amorphous silica surface through three stages. The formation of different directions of water channels is vital for oil detachment. The electrostatic interaction of water substrate contributes to disturbing the aggregates of undecane molecules and the H-bonding interaction between the water molecules is helpful for the oil puddle away from the substrate. However, there is still some oil molecules residue on the substrate surface after water cleaning. The simulation results showed that the specific ring potential well of amorphous silica surface will hinder the detachment of oil molecules. We also find that the formation of the specific ring potential well is related to the number of atoms and the average radius in silica atomic rings. Increasing the upward lift force, which acts on the hydrocarbon tail of oil molecules, will be benefit to clear the oil pollution residues from the glass surface. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.