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Superheating and Homogeneous Single Bubble Nucleation in a Solid-State Nanopore

Gaku Nagashima, Edlyn V. Levine, David P. Hoogerheide, Michael M. Burns, and Jene A. Golovchenko
Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 024506 – Published 9 July 2014
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Abstract

We demonstrate extreme superheating and single bubble nucleation in an electrolyte solution within a nanopore in a thin silicon nitride membrane. The high temperatures are achieved by Joule heating from a highly focused ionic current induced to flow through the pore by modest voltage biases. Conductance, nucleation, and bubble evolution are monitored electronically and optically. Temperatures near the thermodynamic limit of superheat are achieved just before bubble nucleation with the system at atmospheric pressure. Bubble nucleation is homogeneous and highly reproducible. This nanopore approach more generally suggests broad application to the excitation, detection, and characterization of highly metastable states of matter.

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  • Received 13 March 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.113.024506

© 2014 American Physical Society

Synopsis

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Blowing Bubbles on the Nanoscale

Published 9 July 2014

Scientists have now developed a new controlled method to superheat liquids and induce the formation of bubbles in a nanoscale container.

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Authors & Affiliations

Gaku Nagashima1, Edlyn V. Levine1, David P. Hoogerheide2, Michael M. Burns3, and Jene A. Golovchenko1,2,*

  • 1School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
  • 2Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
  • 3The Rowland Institute at Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142, USA

  • *golovchenko@physics.harvard.edu

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Issue

Vol. 113, Iss. 2 — 11 July 2014

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