Work

Spontaneous formation of picoliter water bridges

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Picoliter water, ubiquitous at the microscale and predominantly confined between solids, underpins critical physical, chemical, and biological processes. Although vapor diffusion governs water evaporation in air, and capillarity inhibits evaporation at the nanoscale, neither mechanism fully accounts for the stability of picoliter water at the microscale. Here, we demonstrate that adsorption at solid interfaces can substantially inhibit evaporation, stabilizing picoliter water bridges beyond predictions from capillarity alone. Employing high-resolution X-ray imaging, we directly visualize the evolving geometry of picoliter water during evaporation and develop a physical model that disentangles the roles of capillarity and adsorption. Our results reveal that adsorption-driven inhibition is essential for maintaining water at the microscale, establishing a new framework for understanding and controlling water retention in natural and engineered systems. Water evaporation at the microscale is primarily governed by vapor diffusion and capillarity, but the stability of picoliter water bridges remained poorly explained. Here, the authors demonstrate that adsorption at solid interfaces can significantly inhibit evaporation, thereby enabling the spontaneous formation and long-term stability of picoliter water bridges through an energy-minimization mechanism, as visualized by X-ray imaging.

Source: Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-77515-y

Authors: Gun Oh, Dohyeon Jeon, Sung Hoon Kang, Byung Mook Weon

Institutions: Sungkyunkwan University, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Chemical and Physical Studies

Subfield: Biophysics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $6,990

Funders: Ministry of Education, Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning