Wettability effect on nanoconfined water flow

Abstract

Significance The flow of water confined in nanopores is significantly different from that of bulk water. Moreover, understanding and controlling the flow of the confined water remains an open question, especially concerning whether the flow capacity of the confined water increases or not compared with that of bulk water. Here, combining a theoretical analysis and data from molecular dynamics simulations and experiments in the literature we develop a simple model for the flow of water confined in nanopores. We find that a contact angle and a nanopore dimension may substantially affect the confined water flow. We also quantitatively explain a controversy over an increase or decrease in flow capacity.