Signatures of the Rayleigh-plateau instability revealed by imposing synthetic perturbations on nanometer-sized liquid metals on substrates.

Fluid jets destabilize into droplets according to the well known Rayleigh Plateau (RP) instability. The applicability of the RP model to a nanoscale liquid metal supported on a substrate (a so called rivulet) was investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations as it has important implications for nanoscale materials assembly. Stochastic fluctuations were found to affect rivulet stability and dynamics when compared with microscopic predictions of rivulet break up; here a broad and delayed distribution of break up times was observed. Yet, hallmark characteristics of the RP theory were observed; (1) a critical wavelength demarcating stability, (2) stable and unstable growth modes and (3) neck formation induced by axial pressure gradients. Notably, MD simulations implementing synthetic perturbations, yielded significantly reduced dispersion in the final nanodroplet spacing and clearly revealed the underlying physics driving rivulet break up.

[1]  L. Kondic,et al.  Competing liquid phase instabilities during pulsed laser induced self-assembly of copper rings into ordered nanoparticle arrays on SiO2. , 2011, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[2]  L. Dal Negro,et al.  Engineering photonic-plasmonic coupling in metal nanoparticle necklaces. , 2011, ACS nano.

[3]  Philip D Rack,et al.  Self-assembly versus directed assembly of nanoparticles via pulsed laser induced dewetting of patterned metal films. , 2011, Nano letters.

[4]  Boris N. Chichkov,et al.  Laser fabrication of large-scale nanoparticle arrays for sensing applications. , 2011, ACS nano.

[5]  L. Kondic,et al.  On the breakup of patterned nanoscale copper rings into droplets via pulsed-laser-induced dewetting: competing liquid-phase instability and transport mechanisms. , 2010, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[6]  Teri W Odom,et al.  Large-area nanocontact printing with metallic nanostencil masks. , 2010, Angewandte Chemie.

[7]  C. Favazza,et al.  Thickness-dependent spontaneous dewetting morphology of ultrathin Ag films , 2010, Nanotechnology.

[8]  L. Kondic,et al.  On the breakup of fluid rivulets , 2009 .

[9]  H. Krishna,et al.  Thermodynamic model for the dewetting instability in ultrathin films , 2009, 0908.1898.

[10]  Q. Xia,et al.  The fabrication of periodic metal nanodot arrays through pulsed laser melting induced fragmentation of metal nanogratings , 2009, Nanotechnology.

[11]  D. Bonn,et al.  Wetting and Spreading , 2009 .

[12]  C. Lai,et al.  Nonlithographic fabrication of 25 nm magnetic nanodot arrays with perpendicular anisotropy over a large area , 2009 .

[13]  L. Kondic,et al.  Nanoparticle assembly via the dewetting of patterned thin metal lines: understanding the instability mechanisms. , 2009, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[14]  Christopher P. Favazza,et al.  Functional nanostructures through nanosecond laser dewetting of thin metal films , 2008 .

[15]  Q. Xia,et al.  Improved nanofabrication through guided transient liquefaction. , 2008, Nature nanotechnology.

[16]  E. Villermaux,et al.  Physics of liquid jets , 2008 .

[17]  Teri W Odom,et al.  Multiscale patterning of plasmonic metamaterials. , 2007, Nature nanotechnology.

[18]  R. Sureshkumar,et al.  Self-organized metal nanostructures through laser-interference driven thermocapillary convection , 2007, 0704.1179.

[19]  R. Sureshkumar,et al.  Pulsed-laser-induced dewetting in nanoscopic metal films : Theory and experiments , 2006, cond-mat/0609182.

[20]  Ramki Kalyanaraman,et al.  Robust nanopatterning by laser-induced dewetting of metal nanofilms , 2006, Nanotechnology.

[21]  R. Ewing,et al.  Patterning Metallic Nanostructures by Ion-Beam-Induced Dewetting and Rayleigh Instability , 2006 .

[22]  R. Sureshkumar,et al.  Laser-induced short- and long-range orderings of Co nanoparticles on SiO2 , 2006 .

[23]  D. Bonn,et al.  Retraction dynamics of aqueous drops upon impact on non-wetting surfaces , 2005, Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

[24]  J. Eggers.  Dynamics of liquid nanojets. , 2002, Physical review letters.

[25]  R Seemann,et al.  Dewetting patterns and molecular forces: a reconciliation. , 2001, Physical review letters.

[26]  U. Landman,et al.  Formation, stability, and breakup of nanojets , 2000, Science.

[27]  S. Stuart,et al.  A reactive potential for hydrocarbons with intermolecular interactions , 2000 .

[28]  C. Sykes,et al.  Dynamics of Fast Dewetting on Model Solid Substrates , 1996 .

[29]  Steve Plimpton,et al.  Fast parallel algorithms for short-range molecular dynamics , 1993 .

[30]  Murray S. Daw,et al.  The embedded-atom method: a review of theory and applications , 1993 .

[31]  F. Brochard-Wyart,et al.  Dynamics of liquid rim instabilities , 1992 .

[32]  K. Kawasaki,et al.  Morphological stability analysis of partial wetting , 1987 .

[33]  M. Baskes,et al.  Embedded-atom method: Derivation and application to impurities, surfaces, and other defects in metals , 1984 .

[34]  M. Baskes,et al.  Semiempirical, Quantum Mechanical Calculation of Hydrogen Embrittlement in Metals , 1983 .

[35]  J. Overbeek,et al.  Rupture of thin liquid films due to spontaneous fluctuations in thickness , 1968 .

[36]  L. Rayleigh,et al.  XVI. On the instability of a cylinder of viscous liquid under capillary force , 1892 .

[37]  Miguel Fuentes-Cabrera,et al.  Molecular dynamics study of the dewetting of copper on graphite and graphene: implications for nanoscale self-assembly. , 2011, Physical review. E, Statistical, nonlinear, and soft matter physics.

[38]  Ralf Blossey,et al.  Complex dewetting scenarios captured by thin-film models , 2003, Nature materials.