Effect of Extra Gas Amount on Liquid Outflow from Hydrophobic Nanochannels: Enhanced Liquid-Gas Interaction and Bubble Nucleation

Understanding liquid motion in nanoenvironment is of fundamental importance in nanofluidics-based systems. While the liquid outflow from hydrophobic nanochannels can significantly affect system performance, its underlying mechanism remains unclear so far. Here, we present an experimental study of the gas-phase effect on liquid outflow behavior from hydrophobic nanochannels in a liquid nanofoam (LN) system. Four LN samples, consisting of same liquid-solid composition but different amounts of the gas phase, are characterized by cyclic quasi-static compression tests. A remarkable difference in the LN system reusability has been observed, indicating that the liquid outflow behavior is highly sensitive to the amount of the gas phase. As the gas amount increases, the degree of liquid outflow from hydrophobic nanochannels is considerably promoted. This promotive effect is because of the suppression of gas outflow and acceleration of bubble nucleation in the nanochannels. These fundamental findings open a new perspective on liquid outflow behavior and can facilitate the design of reusable nanofluidics-based energy absorbers.