The impact of secondary channels on the wetting properties of interconnected hydrophobic nanopores

Abstract

The intrusion and extrusion of non-wetting liquids has many industrial applications and understanding how the underlying dynamics that govern the interaction of a given liquid and a nanoporous material can help refine performance. Here, using molecular dynamics simulations, the authors consider the impact of pore connectivity on the water intrusion of hydrophobic nanopores finding that the depth of small interconnecting secondary channels plays a crucial role for the wetting/dewetting properties.