Gas enrichment at liquid-wall interfaces

Phys Rev Lett. 2006 May 26;96(20):206101. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.96.206101. Epub 2006 May 24.

Abstract

Molecular dynamics simulations of Lennard-Jones systems are performed to study the effects of dissolved gas on liquid-wall and liquid-gas interfaces. Gas enrichment at walls, which for hydrophobic walls can exceed more than 2 orders of magnitude when compared to the gas density in the bulk liquid, is observed. As a consequence, the liquid structure close to the wall is considerably modified, leading to an enhanced wall slip. At liquid-gas interfaces gas enrichment which reduces the surface tension is found.