title: Temperature dependence of surface nanobubbles.
abstract: The temperature dependence of nanobubbles was investigated experimentally using atomic force microscopy. By scanning the same area of the surface at temperatures from 51 °C to 25 °C it was possible to track geometrical changes of individual nanobubbles as the temperature was decreased. Interestingly, nanobubbles of the same size react differently to this temperature change; some grow whilst others shrink. This effect cannot be attributed to Ostwald ripening, since the growth and shrinkage of nanobubbles appears to occur in distinct patches on the substrate. The total nanobubble volume per unit area shows a maximum around 33 °C, which is comparable with literature where experiments were carried out with increasing temperature. This underlines the stability of surface nanobubbles.
authors.affiliation: Physics of Fluids, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands. r.p.berkelaar@utwente.nl
authors.forename: Robin P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Berkelaar
authors.forename: James R T
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Seddon
authors.forename: Harold J W
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Zandvliet
authors.forename: Detlef
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lohse