Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Evaporation of Hexane Droplets and Water Droplets on Heated Liquid Gallium Surface

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  • 1. Yanzhao Electric Power Laboratory of North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071003, China
    2. Department of Power Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071003, China
    3. Hebei Key Laboratory of Energy Storage Technology and Integrated Energy Utilization, North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071003, China

网络出版日期: 2026-01-05

基金资助

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51876065), and the Hebei Natural Science Foundation (No. E2025502083).

版权

Science Press, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2026

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Evaporation of Hexane Droplets and Water Droplets on Heated Liquid Gallium Surface

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  • 1. Yanzhao Electric Power Laboratory of North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071003, China
    2. Department of Power Engineering, North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071003, China
    3. Hebei Key Laboratory of Energy Storage Technology and Integrated Energy Utilization, North China Electric Power University, Baoding 071003, China

Online published: 2026-01-05

Supported by

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51876065), and the Hebei Natural Science Foundation (No. E2025502083).

Copyright

Science Press, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2026

摘要

随着柔性电子器件向高性能与高集成度发展,液镓以其独特的超光滑、柔性表面特性,展现出巨大应用潜力。相比传统刚性金属,液镓表面的极低粗糙度为实现更均匀、可控的微流体行为提供了理想平台。本研究采用分子动力学模拟,系统探究了己烷与水滴在加热液镓表面的蒸发行为差异。模拟结果显示:己烷液滴蒸发时,接触角基本不变,接触半径持续减小,呈现典型的恒定接触角模式;而水滴蒸发则表现为接触半径基本固定,接触角逐渐减小,符合恒定接触半径模式。进一步机理分析表明,这两种模式的差异源于蒸发过程中接触线附近的分子间力和液体表面的分子间力两者的竞争机制。水分子间较强的表面张力与氢键结构,抑制了其在气液界面的逃逸,并促使接触线发生“钉扎”效应;相比之下,己烷液滴在蒸发过程中接触线快速回缩,引发液镓表面产生更显著的波动,从而加速蒸发进程。本研究从微观层面揭示了液滴在柔性液态金属表面的蒸发机制,为液镓在柔性散热、微流控芯片等领域的精准调控与应用拓展,提供了理论参考。

本文引用格式

WANG Xilin, LIU Lu, WANG Tai, WANG Teng, DONG Xinyu . Molecular Dynamics Simulation of the Evaporation of Hexane Droplets and Water Droplets on Heated Liquid Gallium Surface[J]. 热科学学报, 2026 , 35(1) : 315 -328 . DOI: 10.1007/s11630-026-2220-z

Abstract

Liquid gallium has a super smooth flexible surface. Compared with traditional rigid metal surfaces, the surface roughness of liquid gallium is much smaller. This study investigated the evaporation of hexane nanodroplet and water nanodroplet on heated liquid gallium surfaces through molecular dynamics simulations, and analyzed the influence of interactions between microscopic particles on evaporation process. The findings suggest that during hexane droplet evaporation, the contact angle stays almost constant, whereas the contact radius progressively shrinks, following the constant contact angle (CCA) mode. During water droplet evaporation, the contact radius stays relatively constant, whereas a progressive reduction in the contact angle is observed, which belongs to the constant contact radius (CCR) mode. The difference between these two evaporation modes is ascribed to competition between intermolecular forces near the contact line and intermolecular forces on the liquid surface during the evaporation process. Water exhibits greater surface tension compared to hexane, which suppresses water molecules from escaping across the vapor-liquid interfacial region. The intermolecular forces in the vicinity of the contact line serve to anchor water droplets to the surface. The hydrogen bonds formed between adjacent water molecules further enhance this interaction, leading to the phenomenon of contact line pinning. Compared with water droplets, rapid shrinkage of contact line during hexane droplets evaporation increases fluctuations on flexible liquid gallium surface, thereby accelerating droplet evaporation. The present work offers a reference for applying liquid metal in flexible electronics.

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