Effects of nanometer scale structure on energy transfer between a surface and fluid molecules

In this study, we used the classical molecular dynamics method in a model calculation system to simulate the effects of nanometer scale structures on heat transfer between a surface and fluid molecules. We calculated the energy transfer between the fluid molecules and the surface atoms for surfaces whose characteristic length scales changed from sub-nanometer to several nanometers in size. The calculation results show that the degree of heat transfer is related to the number of fluid molecules that can exchange kinetic or potential energy with the surface and that this number, in turn, is determined by the surface structures.