Molecular dynamics simulations of the effect of surface wettability on nanoscale liquid film phase-change

Abstract

This article investigates the phase‐change of nanoscale liquid films on different wettability surfaces via molecular dynamics simulation, analyzes the thermal resistance between solid and liquid, investigates the thermal resistance at the solid‐liquid interface and studies the mismatch between the vibrational density of states of the solid and liquid for different wettability surfaces. The results show that a liquid region of 1.4 g/cm³ mass density always exists on the hydrophilic surface during phase‐change, whereas a liquid‐vapor‐liked region of 0.7–0.8 g/cm³ mass density exists on the hydrophobic surface. The thermal resistance at the solid‐liquid interface of the hydrophilic surface is less than that of the hydrophobic surface. The reason is that the mismatch between the vibrational density of states of the solid and liquid of the hydrophilic surface is less than that of the hydrophobic surface.