Subnanometer Topological Tuning of the Liquid Intrusion/Extrusion Characteristics of Hydrophobic Micropores

Abstract

Intrusion (wetting)/extrusion (drying) of liquids in/from lyophobic nanoporous systems is key in many fields, including chromatography, nanofluidics, biology, and energy materials. Here we demonstrate that secondary topological features decorating main channels of porous systems dramatically affect the intrusion/extrusion cycle. These secondary features, allowing an unexpected bridging with liquid in the surrounding domains, stabilize the water stream intruding a micropore. This reduces the intrusion/extrusion barrier and the corresponding pressures without altering other properties of the system. Tuning the intrusion/extrusion pressures via subnanometric topological features represents a yet unexplored strategy for designing hydrophobic micropores. Though energy is not the only field of application, here we show that the proposed tuning approach may bring 20-75 MPa of intrusion/extrusion pressure increase, expanding the applicability of hydrophobic microporous materials.