Impact of nanoscopic impurity aggregates on cavitation in water

Šako, Marin (author), Netz, Roland R. (author), Kanduč, Matej (author)

The stability of water against cavitation under negative pressures is a phenomenon known for considerable discrepancies between theoretical predictions and experimental observations. Using a combination of molecular dynamics simulations and classical nucleation theory, we explore how nanoscopic hydrocarbon droplets influence cavitation in water. Our findings reveal that while a macroscopic volume of absolutely pure water withstands around −120 MPa of tension, introducing a single nanoscopic oil droplet, merely a few nanometers in radius, brings this cavitation threshold to around −30 MPa, closely matching the values typically observed in highly controlled experiments. The unavoidable presence of nanoscopic hydrophobic impurities, even in highly purified water used in experiments, imposes a practical limit on achieving the theoretical tensile strength in realistic settings. More broadly, our study highlights the profound impact of nonpolar residues on nucleation phenomena and enhances our understanding of metastability in real-world systems.

• Language: English
• Keywords: cavitation, bubble, droplet, water, oil, molecular dynamics simulation
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FMF - Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 9 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 62, art. 106243
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-168116
• UDC: 532
• ISSN on article: 2468-0230
• DOI: 10.1016/j.surfin.2025.106243
• COBISS.SI-ID: 230475267
• Publication date in RUL: 28.03.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Surfaces and interfaces
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 2468-0230
• COBISS.SI-ID: 526516249

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: voda, kapljevina, molekularna dinamika

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P1-0055
• Name: Biofizika polimerov, membran, gelov, koloidov in celic

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: J1-4382
• Name: Stabilnost bioloških tekočin pod natezno obremenitvijo