Deformation Dynamics of Nanopores Upon Water Imbibition

Deformation Dynamics of Nanopores Upon Water Imbibition

Juan Sanchez, Lars Dammann, Laura Gallardo, Zuoqing Li, Michael Fröba, Robert Meißner, Howard Stone, Patrick Huber

Capillarity-driven flows in nanometer-sized pores play a dominant role in many natural and technological processes. Here, we show by a combination of experiments and computer simulations of water imbibition in nanopores that the competition between expansive, surface stress release at pore walls and negative, contractile Laplace pressures of nanoscale menisci lead to an unusual macroscopic behavior of the porous medium, which is generic for any liquid/nanoporous solid combination. The results allow one to quantify surface and Laplace stresses and to monitor nanoscale flow and infiltration states by relatively simple length measurements of the porous medium.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121 (38) (2024)
Corresponding Author: Patrick Huber

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