Rapid capillary filling via ion–water interactions over the nanoscale

Abstract

Giant frictional resistances are grand challenges against the rapid filling of nanoscale capillaries, as encountered in a wide variety of applications ranging from nature to energy. It is commonly believed that partially wettable charged nanocapillaries fill up considerably slower, compared to completely wettable ones, under the influence of a complex interplay between interfacial tension and electrical interactions. In sharp contrast to this common belief, here we discover a new non-intuitive regime of rapid filling of charged capillaries over the nanometer scale, by virtue of which a partially wettable capillary may fill up comparatively faster than a completely wettable one. We attribute the fundamental origin of this remarkable behavior to ion–water interactions over interfacial scales. The underlying novel electro-hydrodynamic mechanism, as unveiled here, may provide deeper insights into the physico–chemical interactions leading to augmentations in the rates of nanocapillary filling over hydrophobic regimes, bearing far-reaching implications in the transport of biological fluids, enhanced oil recovery, and miniaturized energy harvesting applications.