Anisotropic self-diffusion in nanofluidic structures

By means of equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate self-diffusion in a "simple" fluid confined to nanoscopic slit-pores. The pore walls are decorated with wettable and nonwettable chemical "stripes" that alternate in the x direction and are assumed infinitely long in the y direction. We consider the impact of pore width as well as variations of the width of the wettable stripes d_wet. Depending on these model parameters and the thermodynamic conditions, the confined fluid may exist as one of three morphologically distinct phases: a thin fluid film adsorbed by the wettable stripes, a fluid bridge spanning the gap between the (aligned) stripes on the two opposite substrates, or a nanostructured liquid where molecules occupy the entire space between the substrate surfaces. By analyzing mean square displacements, velocity autocorrelation functions, and their power spectra, a detailed picture of mass transport and its relation to substrate decoration emerges. In particular, we find that the axial symmetry of the self-diffusion tensor D with respect to the z axis is approximately preserved in liquidlike phases, whereas no such symmetry exists as far as both film and bridge phases are concerned. © 2007 American Chemical Society.