title: Curvature induced phase stability of an intensely heated liquid.
abstract: We use non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to study the heat transfer around intensely heated solid nanoparticles immersed in a model Lennard-Jones fluid. We focus our studies on the role of the nanoparticle curvature on the liquid phase stability under steady-state heating. For small nanoparticles we observe a stable liquid phase near the nanoparticle surface, which can be at a temperature well above the boiling point. Furthermore, for particles with radius smaller than a critical radius of 2 nm we do not observe formation of vapor even above the critical temperature. Instead, we report the existence of a stable fluid region with a density much larger than that of the vapor phase. We explain the stability in terms of the Laplace pressure associated with the formation of a vapor nanocavity and the associated effect on the Gibbs free energy.
authors: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA.
authors: Kiran
authors: K
authors: Sasikumar
authors: Rensselaer Nanotechnology Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA.
authors: Zhi
authors: Z
authors: Liang
authors: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors: David G
authors: DG
authors: Cahill
authors: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, USA.
authors: Pawel
authors: P
authors: Keblinski