Intervening Liquid-Vapor Interface with Atomically Thin Nanopore-Film to Manipulate Kinetically Limited Evaporation

Nonequilibrium kinetically limited evaporation is greatly influenced by the molecular transport properties in the Knudsen layer and interphase layer near the vicinity of the liquid-vapor interface. Despite extensive studies of the Knudsen layer, a precise investigation of the transport phenomena and the direct manipulation of the interphase layer are still lacking. In this paper, we proposed a simple method to intervene in the interphase layer using an atomically thin nanopore film. Through molecular dynamics simulations, the nonequilibrium molecular evaporation behaviors were studied. Interestingly, we found that a lyophilic nanopore film intervened liquid surface with a less exposed evaporation area has a faster evaporation rate than the free liquid surface, while the lyophobic surface exhibits the reverse results. A detailed analysis of the molecular distribution and dynamic properties in the interphase layer shows that molecule adsorption on the nanopore film changes the evaporation path and kinetic energy of the liquid molecule, playing a critical role in manipulating the evaporation behavior. Based on these mechanisms, we obtained evaporation control strategies from the bottom design of the interphase structure. This work offers new insight into the regulation of micro-and nanoscale phase changes as well as design guidelines for achieving efficient evaporation in energy-extensive applications.