On the Manifestation of Hydrophobicity at the Nanoscale

Abstract

The manifestation of hydrophobicity at the nanoscale has been shown to depend on the topology of the solute. Using various nanoscopic hydrophobic plates, molecular dynamics simulation has been employed to explore the hydration and dewetting at the nanoscale. The topology of the solute regulates the behavior of nanoconfined water, resulting in any of the wet, dry, and intermittent wet-dry intersolute states. The present result reconciles apparently contrasting literature reports on how water behaves at extended hydrophobic surfaces and sheds light on the mechanism of dewetting.