Work

Why and When Merging Surface Nanobubbles Jump

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Gas bubble accumulation on substrates reduces the efficiency of many physicochemical processes, such as water electrolysis. For microbubbles, where buoyancy is negligible, coalescence-induced jumping driven by the release of surface energy provides an efficient pathway for their early detachment. At the nanoscale, however, gas compressibility breaks volume conservation during coalescence, suppressing surface energy release and seemingly disabling this detachment route. Using molecular dynamics simulations, continuum numerical simulations, and theoretical analysis, we show that surface nanobubbles with sufficiently large contact angles can nevertheless detach after coalescence. In this regime, detachment is powered by the release of pressure energy associated with nanobubble volume expansion. This finding thus establishes a unified driving mechanism for coalescence-induced bubble detachment across all length scales.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/s5pj-vmq8

Authors: Yixin Zhang, Xiangyu Zhang, Detlef Lohse

Institutions: Max Planck University of Twente Center for Complex Fluid Dynamics, University of Twente, City University of Hong Kong, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization

Language: English

Topic: Minerals Flotation and Separation Techniques

Subfield: Water Science and Technology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W4415998886

FWCI: 0.515

Cites: 52

Cited by: 2

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